geld, geild, gild, guilt

In recent years, the buy-now-pay-later credit model has surfaced as a generational substitute for the widespread use of credit cards, an intermediary e-commerce industry whose business model thrives off the targeting of already financially insecure demographics, accruing profits from interest on unpaid loans from indebted customers.

Interwoven with our comprehension of indebtedness are etymological connections spanning thousands of years to notions of morality, shame, and guilt, engendering beliefs that responsibility ultimately lies with the debtor. However, the lens of culpability becomes complicated when an individual’s mounting debts are perpetuated by a system that flaunts unattainable aspirations and desires. Despite the prevailing imperative of honouring one’s financial obligations, it’s striking how impersonal the economic paradigm becomes when one engages in transactions over objects with concealed entities within the framework of capitalism.

The buy-now-pay-later model offers access to desirable, often luxury items, which prompted the question of how to exploit it without payment. I aimed to challenge this by creating a work that suspends the debtor-creditor relationship within the 30-day return period. I wanted to affect access to the objects on display that would allow an audience to experience the air-fresheners intended purpose without removing the contents from their packages. The quantity of items allowed the unopened air-fresheners to permeate the air of the exhibition with the somewhat abstract idea of what a new car would smell like.

The objects were then returned to the merchant, cancelling the debt.