Sun-Bleached Posters
They must start with hope, these company-commissioned promotional posters. The executive tells the advertising agency of the product and the theme; the art director has a vision; the talent agent knows just the model for the project. The photographer takes the face; the graphic designer composes it; the printer produces the image. Behold: vibrancy, youth, and pleasure all in the palm of your hand—
or at the tips of your fingers.
Sophistication and style are within arm's reach.
But, over time, the scorching sun and the indifference of passersby can dispirit that perfect moment.
The promise of happiness and the vivid colours fade. Now it is harder to keep up a smile.
Sometimes it is hard to be kept up at all without makeshift measures.
Endorsement every day can be disorienting. On lonely urban nights, despair can seize the soul, all ebullience evaporated.
The party is winding down. Luxury, like a base metal, tarnishes before long.
Soon it will be time to make way for another.
