No Trans Fats and Union are part of a 14-piece series which Joe Waks labels “socio-absurdist.”  They both mix and match the ubiquitous icons and emblems present in our consumer-crazed culture to depict America’s strong tradition of unbridled consumption.  It highlights the futile nature of life in our disposable society. 
Waks views these paintings as a commentary on the kooky times in which we live—an era in which our nation’s greatest endowments to commerce are Internet porn, mortgage-backed securities, methamphetamine, and seasoned curly fries. He seeks to temper reality, positing America’s past grandeur with its current status as a junkie desperately seeking a fix of cheap sneakers and flat screen televisions, with a heapin’ helpin’ of humor and a side order of irony.