The Art of Re-Appropriation
In the digital age, culture today moves faster than ever. Constantly flooded with specific imagery that defines “success,” “strength,” and “nationalism.” Symbolizing, and identifying a circuit of global-copy that remixes and repurposes the archetype of the past century.
Platforms in our real time, idolize stoic individualism, hyper-masculine athleticism, and capital triumph; which have been framed though a singular cultural lens. Often, this "ideal" is presented as a monolith, suggesting that these traits belong exclusively to one heritage.
Our project and work seeks to challenge the modern identity, and examine how these ideals are often treated as if they belong with no optional truth or outwardly originality to true-origin.
We are taking the blueprints of dominant & cultural "power" images and appropriating familiar imagery of association towards their proper contextual communities—the aesthetics of pride, muscle, and financial authority—by centering these images on Indigenous peoples, First Nations communities, and men of diverse mixed-heritage (including those of Afro-Latino, Asian, and Middle Eastern descent). We are holding a mirror up to the concept of The Global Standard, deconstructing the "Mindset" of what is often categorized as "white,” placing it in the bodies, histories, and identities of the proper underrepresented of global communities, post-colonization. Not to replace one narrative with another, but to challenge the assumption that any narrative was ever exclusive to begin with.
What is often presented as singular or “pure” is, in reality, the result of centuries of exchange, migration, adaptation, and, at times, force. Systems of dominance have shaped which stories are preserved, which aesthetics are elevated, and which identities are centered—but they have never fully contained them.
Highlighting that these traits are not inherent to any one race; rather, they are a shared (and often imposed) global mindset.
By placing diverse faces into these specific roles of dominance, we aim to show that:
The "Ideal" is a Construct: Much of what is celebrated as "Western success" was built upon the lands and resources of the very people we are now centering in these images.
Expansion of Identity: "Whiteness" as a social category is often inconsistently applied. We recognize the vast spectrum of identity, from White-Latino and Middle Eastern heritages to Albinism, which are often excluded from the traditional "ideal."
Returning Home: We are visually reclaiming the "commons." We are acknowledging that the lands where these ideologies spread are, first and foremost, someone’s ancestral home.
This project isn't just about swapping faces; it’s about properly applying the concept of appropriation. If the world has spent a century adopting a specific aesthetic of power, we are now re-appropriating that power to reflect the true, diverse face of the global population.
We are thanking the concept for its impact, but we are moving past the limitations of the past century (100 +). We are setting a new standard where pride is no longer confined to a single demographic, or utilitarianly seen as the universal expressions it may seem theyy are.
The goal is not erasure—it’s expansion.
Not ownership—but recognition.
Not division—but a clearer understanding of how the Ethos is built, shared, and defined.
Yet even in this fluid environment, certain aesthetics and ideals continue to dominate the mainstream: physical excellence, ambition, national pride, wealth, and individualism.
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