Iteration #3: Academic Studies
Climate Action & Visual Culture, University Of Huddersfield - UK, 2020
The capacity of visual culture to reveal the unseen and show in new light (instead of, or as well as, telling and informing) is emphasised in Policardo’s Branded trash (In) voluntary product displacement. Photographs of discarded containers with sometimes faded and crumpled, but still clearly identifiable logos appear like still lives, carefully lit and staged like a product placement. Adding an air of glossy value to ‘worthless’ waste, these images raise awareness of – and in doing so are complicit within - the enduring, free advertising of litter. This project brings to light the circulation of value that not only spurs further ecological destruction but accumulates deeply uneven benefits and losses.
→ AC Davidson, University of Huddersfield
This call for proposals of creative practice-based research may seek to offer alternative forms of social structures through visual cultural
As Found
University of Nova Gorica,
Nova Gorica, Slovenia - 2024
This impromptu installation presents three works brought together with the generous support of Peter Purg, Dean of Humanities at the University of Nova Gorica. Conceived as a spontaneous response to place and context, the display bridges personal research and public encounter, allowing the works to converse with their surroundings in an unplanned yet meaningful way.
What began as an informal gesture quickly grew into a focused moment of reflection—on space, timing, and the quiet potential of art to disrupt routine.
Sometimes all it takes is an open door and the right kind of support
The final act of the billboard installation, carried out by a team of public workers, becomes a crucial part of the exhibition. This “performance” is a deliberate nod to the invisible labour involved in installing advertising, serving as a metaphor for how we overlook waste in daily life. By turning this mundane task into a spectacle, the exhibition asks viewers to reconsider the value and visibility of both waste and advertising. This act will be documented and will form a critical part of the exhibition’s narrative.
The final act of the billboard installation, carried out by a team of public workers, becomes a crucial part of the exhibition. This “performance” is a deliberate nod to the invisible labour involved in installing advertising, serving as a metaphor for how we overlook waste in daily life. By turning this mundane task into a spectacle, the exhibition asks viewers to reconsider the value and visibility of both waste and advertising. This act will be documented and will form a critical part of the exhibition’s narrative.
Whilst absentmindedly looking at the trash that litters our daily journeys—from walking and cycling to travelling by train, passing through airports, or relaxing at the beach—we do not realise that all these discarded, logo-bearing objects are doing more than just polluting; they continue to send messages, even in their post-mortem state.
They are silently communicating with us, stubbornly refusing to be ignored.
A piece of litter bearing a logo, abandoned on the beach, is the equivalent of a paid billboard on the side of a highway—perhaps less visible but far more pervasive, long-lasting, and way more economical for the company given it’s totally free.
Most importantly, the blame is shifted to the consumer, the one physically, practically and recklessly doing the littering.
Branded Trash explores the concept of product displacement, highlighting the tragically ironic contrast between the intentional-unintentional placement of branded products in everyday life and their ultimate fate as discarded litter.
While product placement in media aims to seamlessly integrate products into our perception of reality, blurring the lines between advertising and everyday life, product displacement reveals the unintended consequences of consumerism.
When products are correctly placed in their intended context, they seamlessly integrate into the illusion created by advertising, just like the agreement between a spectator and an actor in a performance. This integration reinforces the desired connection between the consumer and the brand, maintaining the coherence of the narrative.
However, when a product is displaced and ends up as litter, it disrupts this illusion and agreement. The cognitive dissonance arises as the intended context is shattered, revealing the real-world consequences of consumerism.
This rupture can be seen as a rip in the fourth wall moment, where the viewer is abruptly confronted with the consequences of their own role/actions as a consumer and the environmental impact of their choices. This disruption challenges the seamless integration of the product into the advertising illusion, exposing the underlying contradictions and prompting reflection on the true costs of consumer culture.
The photographs in Branded Trash capture the transformation of once-desirable branded products into litter, challenging the illusion created by advertising.
The images try to raise questions about consumer culture, environmental responsibility, the lasting impact of our choices, and most especially the responsibility of brands.
It serves as a commentary on the paradoxical relationship between advertising, consumption, and the consequences of product disposal, encouraging viewers to reflect on the hidden costs behind the glossy images of branded products in everyday life.
The constant presence of logos and brands has become an integral part of our everyday existence, subtly influencing our consumer decisions. This phenomenon is not new; it has become so ingrained in our lives that we have come to accept and perceive it as a normal process.
The sight of littered packaging, cans, and bags on our streets serves as an inadvertent form of advertising, a form of passive-aggressive publicity, granting companies free promotion without their active involvement.
If you think that having your company associated with a pile of trash is bad, think again.
There is no such thing as bad publicity.
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One of the main issues with this project is aptly summarized by Prof. A.C. Davidson of the University of Huddersfield, who pointed out a paradox in my work—a contradiction that I have always been aware of.
"The root of the climate change problem can be traced to an instrumental relationship with materiality and human relations. To recover from the climate crisis equitably, we need to move away from economies and cultures where everything and everyone, including waste packaging (as highlighted by Policardo), is exploited for value extraction. Moreover, it is essential to challenge the cultural assumptions about our identity as a species in the Anthropocene. Grosz, by queering Darwin’s work, theorizes that art does not separate us from other species but aligns us with them. According to Grosz, art rooted in sexual selection transforms materials and environments based on desire and movement towards other ways of being, rather than mere survival.The capacity of visual culture to reveal the unseen and show in new light (instead of, or as well as, telling and informing) is emphasised in Policardo’s Branded trash: (In) voluntary product displacement. Photographs of discarded containers with sometimes faded and crumpled, but still clearly identifiable logos appear like still lives, carefully lit and staged like a product placement. Adding an air of glossy value to ‘worthless’ waste, these images raise awareness of – and in doing so are complicit within - the enduring, free advertising of litter. This project brings to light the circulation of value that not only spurs further ecological destruction but accumulates deeply uneven benefits and losses."
→ AC Davidson, University of Huddersfield
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There is something fascinating about trash. It always catches your eye.
The power of a faded can of Pepsi left for years under the sun, next to a thriving bunch of mushrooms sitting peacefully in the woods next to my hometown, just a few kilometres from the border.
That’s my first memory of human dumped trash.
The faded blue and the Pepsi logo, Pepsi - not Coca-Cola. Despite both brands coming to Yugoslavia at the end of the sixties, I always found Pepsi to be somewhat of a socialist drink. I thought, in fact, that Pepsi was only found in Yugoslavia; it had Yugoslav colours in its brand palette. I wonder if part of Pepsi’s success in Eastern Europe was down to a lucky colour combination. Or was Pepsi more popular in Eastern Europe altogether? Maybe I made it up, constructing a narrative around a childhood memory of a faded can of Pepsi found in the woods when I was probably 8 or 9.
That’s probably why I associate Pepsi with Yugoslavia to the point that, in my head, Coca-Cola never existed in Yugoslavia before 1990. Which is obviously not true. Coca-Cola was introduced in Yugoslavia in the late sixties, around the same time as Pepsi. This happened amidst controversies as both brands, with Coca-Cola taking the lead, have always been recognisable and widespread embodiments of American capitalism.
And then there’s the whole fascinating story about Cockta, the very native and very socialist alternative to imperialism disguised as a fizzy drink - or the other many replicas born as counter-imperialist drinks in pretty much any countries in Eastern Europe - pardon my generalisations. I hope you’ll just retain the gist of what I am getting at.
Sadly though, this is not a series about Yugo Nostalgia or Eastern European fizzy drinks. This is a series about litter and brands, and how much humanity is reflected in the trash it generates.
Logo-bearing cans and packages are now everywhere, not only Coca Cola. The kingdom of logos and brands has permeated everything, from our society to more literally and practically our daily life, our streets, our oceans, our woods.
Branded Trash is not just simple trash.
It is not just another environmental disaster.
Branded trash is advertising.
Unpaid for by the brand, insidious and everywhere, a point of focus for our busy brains and eyes; endless product placement in the movies of our lives.
It doesn’t matter where I am now, or what my tastes are. Pepsi will always and overpoweringly taste of nostalgia.
What is branded trash?It is literally what the tin says.My initial reflection when looking at all the trash surrounding my everyday going fr
Branded Trash explores the intersection of consumer culture, advertising, and waste, focusing on how branded litter scattered across city streets or rural areas becomes an involuntary and omnipresent form of advertising. The project photographs various types of discarded objects branded with corporate logos, challenging viewers to reconsider the invisibility of waste in urban spaces and highlighting a paradox: even trash, before being elevated to the status of billboards, serves as genuine advertising.
By subtly integrating itself into the urban landscape, the exhibition blurs the lines between public space, advertising, and art, aiming to provoke reflection among passersby on the roles of consumers and companies in the waste cycle.
This iteration will be spread throughout the city, starting on 4th October 2024 and culminating between 17th and 18th October 2024 during the ReThinkable Festival, with the unveiling of a final large-scale billboard on Via Formica. This billboard will serve as the visual opener, with the installation being treated as a performance in itself.
The final act of the billboard installation, carried out by a team of public workers, becomes a crucial part of the exhibition. This “performance” is a deliberate nod to the invisible labour involved in installing advertising, serving as a metaphor for how we overlook waste in daily life.
By turning this mundane task into a spectacle, the exhibition asks viewers to reconsider the value and visibility of both waste and advertising. This act will be documented and will form a critical part of the exhibition’s narrative.
Stop Telling Me to Buy Crap
As consumers, we are often involved in the process of producing waste, but companies bear a significant responsibility in the lifecycle of their products. This project highlights the fact that waste is a passive and insidious form of advertising, freely granted to companies as a byproduct of consumerism. It challenges viewers to confront this reality, exposing the hidden costs of our throwaway culture.
Product displacement refers to the practice of replacing or mimicking real brands and products in media, such as films, TV shows, or art, to avoid trademark issues, provide social commentary, or critique consumer culture. Unlike product placement, where real brands pay to appear, product displacement involves fictionalised or parodied representations. These often serve to highlight social issues tied to consumption or brand influence, maintaining a critical distance from direct corporate involvement.
Previous Exhibitions
Kensington & Chelsea Art Week (KCAW 2020): The project debuted at KCAW’s Little Voices, an event focused on climate change and social inequalities.
Climate Action & Visual Culture: The work expanded into a more academic exploration at the University of Huddersfield as part of the Climate Action & Visual Culture programme.
Branded Trash Book (2022): A photographic book was published, blending images, reflections, and textual commentary on the project.
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The project is produced in collaboration with the ReThinkable Festival and funded with the support of Regione Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Italy
ReThinkable Festival
Regione Friuli Venezia-Giulia
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Branded Trash: (In)voluntary Product Displacement - Iterazione #4 - Mostra diffusa a Gorizia
Branded Trash esplora l'intersezione tra cultura dei consumi, pubblicità e rifiuti, concentrandosi su come i rifiuti marchiati, sparsi per le strade urbane o le aree rurali, diventino una forma involontaria e onnipresente di pubblicità. Il progetto fotografa diversi tipi di oggetti abbandonati, marchiati con loghi aziendali, sfidando il pubblico a riconsiderare l'invisibilità dei rifiuti negli spazi urbani e mettendo in luce un paradosso: anche i rifiuti, prima di essere elevati a cartelloni pubblicitari, servono come vera e propria pubblicità.
Integrandosi sottilmente nel paesaggio urbano, la mostra sfuma i confini tra spazio pubblico, pubblicità e arte, con l'obiettivo di stimolare una riflessione tra i passanti sui ruoli dei consumatori e delle aziende nel ciclo dei rifiuti.
Questa iterazione si diffonderà per tutta la città, a partire dal 4 ottobre 2024 e culminando tra il 17 e il 18 ottobre 2024 durante il ReThinkable Festival, con la rivelazione di un grande cartellone su Via Formica. Questo cartellone fungerà da apertura visiva, con l'installazione trattata come una performance a sé stante.
L'atto finale dell'installazione del cartellone, eseguito da una squadra di operai pubblici, diventa una parte della mostra. Questa performance è un richiamo deliberato al lavoro invisibile coinvolto nell'installazione della pubblicità, servendo come metafora per come ignoriamo i rifiuti nella vita quotidiana. Trasformando questo compito banale in uno spettacolo, la mostra invita il pubblico a riconsiderare il valore e la visibilità sia dei rifiuti che della pubblicità. Questo atto sarà documentato e formerà una parte della narrativa dell'esposizione.
Smettete di dirmi di comprare cazzate
Come consumatori, siamo spesso coinvolti nel processo di produzione dei rifiuti, ma le aziende hanno una responsabilità significativa nel ciclo di vita dei loro prodotti. Questo progetto mette in evidenza il fatto che i rifiuti sono una forma passiva e insidiosa di pubblicità, concessa gratuitamente alle aziende come sottoprodotto del consumismo. Sfida il pubblico a confrontarsi con questa realtà, esponendo i costi nascosti della nostra cultura dell'usa e getta.
Il product displacement si riferisce alla pratica di sostituire o imitare marchi e prodotti reali nei media, come film, serie TV o arte, per evitare problemi di marchio, fornire commenti sociali o criticare la cultura del consumo. A differenza del product placement, dove i marchi pagano per apparire, il product displacement coinvolge rappresentazioni fittizie o parodistiche. Queste spesso servono a mettere in luce questioni sociali legate al consumo o all'influenza dei marchi, mantenendo una distanza critica dall'implicazione diretta delle aziende.
Esposizioni Precedenti
Kensington & Chelsea Art Week (KCAW 2020): Il progetto ha debuttato al Little Voices del KCAW, un evento focalizzato sul cambiamento climatico e le disuguaglianze sociali.
Climate Action & Visual Culture: Il lavoro si è ampliato in un'esplorazione più accademica all'Università di Huddersfield come parte del programma Climate Action & Visual Culture.
Branded Trash Book (2022): È stato pubblicato un libro fotografico che combina immagini, riflessioni e commenti testuali sul progetto.
Il progetto è prodotto in collaborazione con il ReThinkable Festival e finanziato con il sostegno della Regione Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Italia
ReThinkable Festival
Regione Friuli Venezia-Giulia
