Sugar In

•

Sugar supplies us with energy to survive, but the global epidemic of sugar over-consumption has turned sugar into a new-drug that is slowly eroding our health.
For the Assignment: Ethics and Justice, I created three posters aiming to raise awareness of the potential damage and harmful effects of sugar-epidemic.

The poster above addresses the inflammation-like effect of sugar on one’s skin according to a health blog post by Harvard University. First, I created a gender-neutral head; then, I crumbled up a sugar-glazed scone and created the texture that mimics acne.

The next poster focuses on the potential aging effect of sugar on one’s skin. The production of every energy unit from sugar contributes to the oxidation of one’s cells. I melted caramel sweets and stretched them across the face, duplicating the alignment of wrinkles.

The last poster of this series addresses the “withdrawal-effect” when one stops eating large amounts of sugar. Consuming sugar triggers the release of dopamine, consuming large amounts of sugary products for a long period of time increases the threshold of satisfaction. When the supply of sweetness comes to a halt, one could feel the lack of energy, anxiety or even slight depression. I caramelized sugar and aimed to recreate the condition of a confused mind using spun sugar.

Footnote: The first poster “Sugar in, Break out” was taken down from the walls behind the dessert stands of RISD School cafeteria after only 4 hours of posting.

I hope to raise awareness of the potential harmful effects of over-consuming sugar that in my opinion is a very wide-spread problem at least in North America. The tactically provocation visualization of the damages one could be implanting on one’s body engages the viewers in a more emotionally effective way. Through the provoking of either disgust, discomfort or disturbance, I hope this sugar-epidemic can be recognized by more.