INFLUENZA™ — THE ART WORLD’S FOUNTAIN OF POWER

INFLUENZATM is a satirical art commercial styled like a high-gloss skincare

advertisement. Through parody, magical realism, and commercial tropes, the work

critiques Miami’s systems of artistic visibility, institutional favoritism, and performative

inclusion. The “art serum” becomes a metaphor for the evolving pressures artists face—

shifting their identities, aesthetics, and strategies to adapt to cultural gatekeeping.

With humor and commercial exaggeration, the piece exposes how legitimacy and

visibility are manufactured, commodified, and distributed unevenly. Presented through

infomercial aesthetics and fictional branding, the work examines how artists evolve to

survive, resist, or subvert institutional power structures in Miami’s fast-paced cultural

ecosystem.