Badge of Honor

When observing Pepon Osorio's Badge of Honor, there are two things that immediately stand out to me. I immediately notice the cluster of objects, as a whole, rather than any one separate thing. The baseball cards coating the wall, the basketballs scattered around the floor, and the neatened sneakers in the corner. It's obvious that he's interested in sports. I can discern from the Bruce Lee posters that he's int martial arts flicks. He would seem to be a physically active teenager. I then noticed that the room looked exceptionally expensive. This seems like an average teenage kid, but one that comes from a wealthy family. I then decided that the objects in the room probably didn't come out f his own wallet. You might be hard pressed to find something in that room that he earned himself. Osorio's construction is more than just a meaningless recreation. The story being revealed becomes all the more apparent when you see his father's prison room next to it. It looks like a tale of a loving father, who has nothing, spoiling his child to make up for his own misfortunate lifestyle.

I don't think there's any part of the room Osorio has steeped in fantasy. Who am I to say that there isn't a teenager out there with a room like this? There's nothing placed in the room that couldn't possibly exist there. However, I can speak for the attention to detail Osorio has included. I especially love the cluttered feeling that so accurately represents the archetypical teenage room. Basketballs have been dropped in random places, the bed is unkept, a pillow lies on the floor, and a bike takes up an awkward amount of space.

Pictured: Teenager in her natural habitat