Born To Die

2022

Teddy Bear Sausage shaped flyers and textile mesh banners with infographics

Shown at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design

Born To Die is a cross-media installation that humorously recollects the story of the creation of an industrially produced Teddy Bear Sausage. The Teddy Bear Sausage phenomenon demonstrates how industrial societies use
cuteness as a tool to play down serious topics. Factory farmed pigs are transformed into smiling Teddy Bears pressed from leftover meat dough. This transformation indicates how far removed an end product may be from its original condition. The lived realities of the sensitive mammals fade into the background and hide behind the facade of a friendly Teddy Bear reality.

I was responsible for the design and production of flyers imitating the shape of the Teddy Bear Sausage and created banners with infographics related to the history of pork and sausage production. The design, like the bear-shaped sausage itself, was meant to present the heavy topic in a cute, light, and playful way. The flyer was printed on grass paper to simulate the texture of the sausage. The banners were produced on mesh fabric to allow as much light as possible to pass through when hung in the installation.