Amy Carkeek’s photographic practice explores the impact of popular culture and consumer imagery on the construction of Western identity. Through depicting the ‘cracks in the veneer’ her practice questions a society that promotes the continual commodification of life. As technology advances and the means of communication become faster, cheaper and more accessible on a global scale, consumer imagery is continuously, but uncritically absorbed. Such systems contribute to the illusion of ‘The Great Australian Dream’ and all that it continues to promise. These idealistic representations of a 21st century suburban utopia continue to bombard society, significantly influencing generations of consumers and their collective desires. As society continues to surrender to this illusion, we eagerly enter a glittering smokescreen, void of current social, environmental and political concerns. Carkeek has exhibited in galleries across Australia and in the USA. She has been a finalist in awards such as the Clayton Utz Art Award, the Ulrick and Schubert Photography Award, and was the winner of the Lord Mayors Photographic Award in 2011. She is currently completing her PhD at Griffith University, Brisbane Australia and is an Associate Lecturer in the Photography Department.

Consumer imagery and commodity objects have been the epicentre of ‘The Great Australian Dream’. As the West begins to face the economic consequences of living the good life, we continue to fetishize a consumer value system. This system has manufactured an illusion of cultural identity and social expectations that is not only a façade, but increasingly unattainable. This series of images seeks to reveal the cracks in the ‘The Great Australian Dream’ and our endless desire to be part of an increasingly affluent and artificial fantasy.