American Fake Friends is an on-going exhibition exploring false relationships within personal identity through distorted images of fictional American pop culture cartoon characters.
Bugs Bunny ain’t real.
However, he is the first face I can recognize as far back as my memory goes.
A large portion of our initial observations and study of the world is done watching cartoons.
Scripted and illustrated interactions of something that isn’t actually real.
But we all know Bugs Bunny. He was never born nor deceased. He is timeless. He is an abstract representation of human traits. And so are all of his animated friends.
Billions of people on this planet have relationships with these cartoons.
From birth, we are surrounded with what are seemingly sentient beings which children, and adults, create very real bonds with. They display human characteristics from where children catalyze their own.
Images teaching humans to be human.
The bonds people form with American cartoons is some of the most successful branding known to man. Risk-free relationships in the public domain.
Today, technology is that catalyst from which we can create and recreate ourselves picking and choosing to bring the perfectly orchestrated “me” into focus, curating our own characters through social media, commercialized politics, and false cultural value.
Online apparitions in real time. MemeLife. Hashtag Blessed. Filter. Animate.
Lo-Fi for the abs. Clarendon for the titties. X-Pro II for the kissy face.
I can’t even.
Lolz.
We are cartoons of ourselves.
But it’s not our fault.
This is who raised us.
These are our parents.
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All artworks were hand painted using a chopstick and enamel, then digitized. The multiplying of images and semi-3D effect is used to demonstrate the unclear and multidimensional aspect of identities. You may find them difficult to look at. The 3D glasses provided during live exhibiitions will enhance this difficulty.
Adam Palmeter Designs 