The Wake

Photo by Priscilla Briggs

Tucked quietly away in the back left corner at the Minnesota Center for Photography is an exhibit that explores consumption around the world, while remembering that there is always a profit to be made in a capitalist society. Priscilla Briggs utilizes imagery in foreign and domestic shopping centers to reflect a Global Market. While the specifics differ in each location, Briggs manages to find a marketing emblem regardless of country. Brand names and advertisements prominently displayed glow eerily bright and outshine their surroundings. By far the largest piece in the exhibit, a 50.5” by 72” vinyl print, is draped across its own wall and serves as the only solo performance in the collection. A topless woman advertises a Chanel purse just big enough to meet FCC regulations while a janitor contently sweeps the floor during her nightly rounds. Lit only by the 10 foot tall brilliantly lit photograph in the background, the janitor is a reflection of the inherent knowledge that the model behind her made more during that one photo shoot than she would in an entire year. A smaller print, entitled “Singing Buddhas” features rows of pocket-size glass replicas of the enlightened one with colors so bright they seem to be lit from the inside, as though their auras are shining through. Briggs isn’t just an observer of this global market though - she’s fully immersed in capitalistic society and not afraid to use it to her advantage. A plastic box full of dollar bills greets exhibit visitors with a sign: “Postcards $1.00. Proceeds to Priscilla Briggs. (Not an MCP donation box.)”