A typology and ambivalent cultural gaze of the similarity and difference of the humble toilet roll was, until Corvid19, the perfect foil for the absurdity of consumerism. Representative of our emotions manipulated towards excessive, pathological and unchecked desire for variety. Supply exceeding demand, like addiction, both the cause and solution to existential anxiety. This capitalist model has been briefly questioned, perhaps optimistically even checked by the alternative reality of the pandemic and a new shape emerges when the valueless becomes a precious commodity.
Richard Ansett’s images are in permanent and private collections including the National Portrait Galleries of London and Canada, Bibliotheque Nationale de France and the Smithsonian. His images have been part of major collaborative exhibitions worldwide. His images have won the Arte Laguna Prize 2013 and Grand Prix de la Decouverte 2013 and received the gold award at Prix de la Photographie in 2011,
