“OOPS!”

Inspired by protest posters from the DC Women’s March, the purpose of my OOPS! ring is to inspire empowerment amongst women. For this piece I chose to concentrate on Plan B because I have seen many young women feel ashamed or embarrassed when having to purchase birth control, Plan B in particular. There’s often a judgment associated with with its purchase. Either the pharmacist will give a glare or others in the store will look at you with judgment in their eyes. Its turned into a public shaming event when it should not be at all. In all reality, it’s an “Oops! No big deal!” kind of moment. Women should hold their head proud that they are taking care of themselves and their future.

My inspiration mainly came from children’s advertisements, Pop art, and the posters from the 2017 Women’s March. Millennials grew up in a time where advertisements were made almost almost down to a science. Cereal companies, toy advertisements and fast food commercials flash across the TV screen in bright flashy colors with fun characters, prizes were offered at the end of a meal or end of a box of cereal, and catchy little songs played in the back. They seemed fun and happy. With the average child spending anywhere between 2-5 hours a day watching TV, around 32 hours a week, it means most children see about 10 and a half hours of commercials every week. The way these advertisements invite children in, briefly stimulating feelings of happiness, and leaving them wanting more has been a major source of my inspiration. In my OOPS! ring, I took notice of the pop art movement that imitated mass culture and the advertising for products, drawing inspiration from word bubbles commonly seen artists like Roy Litchenstein’s work. By using brightly colored soft fur, in a bold pop art format, it invites people in to see what its all about. It brings a sense of nostalgia and reformat the typical feeling of shame that comes with buy Plan B into a new and lighter, no-big-deal attitude.