In a bold and provocative move, artist Pattern Up has stirred up a whirlwind of discussion with the unveiling of a shopfront on Gloucester Road, Brighton, named “Katie Prices.” The installation, seemingly a parody of celebrity Katie Price, aims to highlight and critique societal attitudes towards cosmetic plastic surgery and the stigmatization of women who undergo such procedures.
Pattern Up, known for their boundary-pushing artistic statements, explained the motivation behind this latest stunt: “It seems there is a vast amount of stigmatizing towards women with cosmetic plastic surgery in addition to the increase and access to it. Katie Price has previously been very vocal about how accessible cosmetic plastic surgery is and will be in the future.”
The artist elaborated on why Katie Price was chosen as the focal point for the project, stating, “We decided to use Katie at the forefront of the project due to the truthful outward remarks she has made in the past about the accessibility of cosmetic surgeries. She has also been heavily scrutinized and put down by the media for it.”
Pattern Up highlighted the classist undertones in the media’s treatment of Price, describing the prejudice as “a nasty classist prejudice that is held towards conventionally attractive working-class women who have monetized off their looks and gained celebrity status.” The artist pointed out how Price’s every imperfect decision, particularly regarding her personal life and appearance, is relentlessly documented and criticized by the media.
“This media expectation for women to be commercially attractive 24/7 is also passed down to younger women who look up to celebrities, who have also been airbrushed head to toe before being documented all over the media,” Pattern Up added. “Causing women and girls to feel inadequate, furthermore leading them to edit their looks with cosmetic surgery.”
Pattern Up concluded with a striking prediction: “In the future, surgery will probably be as normal as buying cigarettes from a shop.”
The installation has sparked mixed reactions, with some applauding the artist for addressing important social issues, while others criticize it as an insensitive mockery of Katie Price. Regardless of the differing opinions, Pattern Up’s shopfront on Gloucester Road has undeniably succeeded in sparking a broader conversation about the pressures and prejudices faced by women in the public eye.
