Paper, 70 x 100 cm

(2024)

"Carne Diem" echoes the Vanitas tradition, using the meat as a symbol of transience and mortality, redundantly amplifying the concept by presenting an iconic skull. The use of a mundane source like supermarket coupons brings to mind critiques of consumer culture, but by leveraging the literal meaning of the images, it extends to abstraction in the context of mortality. The title, a playful twist on the Latin phrase "Carpe Diem" (seize the day), suggests a contemplative invitation to seize the fleeting moments within a context of abundance. As part of the broader "Horror Vacui" ongoing project, the artwork aligns with the series' ethos by deliberately rejecting empty spaces. The series seeks to fill the composition with vibrant and intricate details, creating a sense of overwhelming visual richness. This approach challenges traditional notions of art and beauty, pushing the boundaries of what is considered aesthetically pleasing, and intends to explore human obsessions and compulsive behaviors. By engaging in this cathartic practice, the artist explores themes of obsession and compulsion, as well as inviting the viewer to consider their own processes of selection, accumulation, and transformation in their own lives. The artist's choice to fill the overwhelming composition with vibrant cutouts of meat in their slightly different red fleshy tones is close to the desire to make the subject imperceptible, in a reminiscence of a certain psychedelic art, of a subliminal message. The juxtaposition of the vibrant colors and the morbid subject matter creates a tension that is both captivating and unsettling. By challenging preconceived notions of art and beauty, this piece forces us to confront the fragility of life and the inevitability of death while incorporating a touch of irony, which contributes to the liminal nature of the work. The compulsive nature of the work seeks to analyze a variety of subjects, beginning with this particular aspect and the way the parts that make it up are transformed, providing a framework for a multi-layered analysis that is subject to the viewer's own perspective and interpretation.