The rise of wellness movements transformed what was once personal improvement into toxic productivity. With social media’s countless tips and tricks on how to become a better version of yourself, efforts towards being more confident are never-ending. From girlboss to it-girl, we can never escape the need for self-help. The trends pushing for confidence only perpetuate wellness without the depth it actually requires. Our expectations now include a new standard for mental health. It is not enough to look our best but also to feel our best – after all, all that matters is the person we appear to be. 

For my installation, I created a Confidence Center Help Desk —  an imaginative company created with the philosophy of helping others achieve the best version of themselves through obsessive improvement and toxic productivity. By using satirical rhetoric to juxtapose the pastel brand colors, the expectations of the company’s message will be inverted to expose the flaws behind the current self-help culture. The Help Desk will allow the audience to experience the artificial reality social media has curated around our perception of confidence and the true cost of it.