A TREND is a two-part installation that examines the tension between identity and consumption, between being seen and being defined. Within the framework of SAW 8’s theme “Genderfication,” the work questions the transformation of gender expression and queerness into temporary, aestheticized trends — asking what remains when visibility becomes commodification.

The installation unfolds across two distinct spaces:

Part I – AM I A TREND?
A single LED sign, nothing more.

Installed alone in a white cube space, the LED sign flashes:
AM I A TREND?

Without image, mirror, or object, the sign becomes a suspended question — unresolved, echoing.
It invites the viewer into introspection without guidance. The room remains intentionally empty, forcing attention onto the text and the tension it provokes. The question is both personal and collective. It lingers.

Part II – I AM NOT YOUR TREND
A visual confrontation between reflection, refusal, and witnessing.

In the second space, another LED sign states:

I AM NOT YOUR TREND

Mounted above a large vertical mirror and facing an empty magenta chair, this arrangement creates a triangular dynamic. The viewer sees themselves reflected beneath the statement, while remaining physically distanced from the site of the message.

The mirror is not for vanity, and the chair is not for sitting. The work denies comfort and clarity. Instead, it constructs a charged environment of presence and power — one where the viewer becomes implicated in the very structures they are prompted to question.

This part of the installation transforms the question from the first space into a refusal. But rather than ending the loop, it deepens it.