Artist Statement:

In Supply Chain, I wanted to strip away the elegance of consumer presentation and leave behind the grotesque reality of commodification. The forms on display are bloated and excessive, but still posed still curated. They reflect the ideal body, exaggerated to the point of absurdity, then discarded like overstock. These aren’t mannequins. They’re echoes of former desire, caught between advertisement and autopsy. The viewer outside the glass is not exempt they’re dressed in the same uniform of success, briefcase in hand, a participant in the system they refuse to question. This piece confronts how we aestheticize excess, and how our hunger for status swells until it collapses under its own weight.

—

Hashtags:

#RhondaMelo, #Melora, #Melora<3, #MeloraArtist, #10000HourProject, #WindowInstallation, #MannequinCritique, #BodyCommodification, #ConsumerCultureArt, #DecayAsDesign, #ContemporaryArt, #DarkSurrealism, #VisualCapitalism, #FashionButcher, #CorporateDisfigurement, #LateStageLuxury, #HauteMacabre, #ArtAsReckoning, #ExcessInDisplay, #GallerySubmission, #MeloraExhibit

Artist Statement:

The Original Model contemplates the erasure of authenticity in the pursuit of image. The classical male nude, a reference to ancient ideals of beauty and form, stands in stark contrast to the glossy, suited mannequins—uniform, faceless, interchangeable. In this confrontation between flesh and fabrication, we’re asked: What is truly aspirational? What is performative? What is for sale? The suited men looking on are not just voyeurs; they are complicit, dressed in the same language of uniformity, staring at the raw truth they've abandoned.

Hashtags:

#TheOriginalModel #Melor #MelorArtist #Melor❤️ #RhondaMelo #MannequinSeries #MaleGazeReversed #BodyVsBrand #LuxuryCritique #VisualCapitalism #StorefrontSurrealism #ConceptualFashionArt #PostHumanElegance