Karola Kaugema

The idea for this piece came from the Rexona deodorant two-sided advertisement. On the side meant for men said the following “Twice swimming in the sea in a year is equal to the distance crossing the La Manche”. Side of the ad, what was meant for women, said that using makeup every day is same worthy as covering a wall with makeup foundation. Men’s ad was about accomplishment, but the womens`s side was about everyday tasks. Provoked by the ignorance of this commercial I got an idea to make a room– and smell installation, cover a whole room with a makeup foundation by hand (using beauty blender), walls and the floor. There is also a video, created using foundation commercials.

Smoothing skin, erasing wrinkles, enlarging muscles and slimming waists, airbrushing, or “photoshopping,” men and women to so-called perfection is the norm in advertising. For some, the desire to look as perfect as these models or media stars can become an obsession and cause serious body image problems, what can lead to eating disorders, diet pills or steroids, or cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic commercials manipulate women, that without makeup they do not look professional, they are not their best version. 
For this project I used about 50 bottles of makeup foundation.