ENZO

Dimension

38 x 46 cm

Date: 30/11/2024

Materials used:

Acrylic and oil,

Explanation of the painting

We are all prisoners, chained to the accomplishment of physical tasks. Among those who perform this hard labor, two types can be distinguished: those who are crushed under the weight of the plow they pull, and the damned – these creatures often perceived as useless. The master of these damned sometimes reduces them to a limited intellectual state. Yet, at birth, these beings possessed a higher consciousness. But everything in their environment pushes them to regress towards a state of stupidity. The solution is not in accumulating more wealth to work less, no, because that is ingrained in our genetic code, and everything will bring us back to our state of stupid oxen. And being the master is not being free either. Paradoxically, the more an individual rises to the rank of master, the more constrained he is by the system. As for animals that have become stupid, they move forward with blinkers firmly fixed. They love what their master loves, adopt his desires, even if they are absurd or inaccessible. Sometimes, their master aspires to alcohol; then, they also desire it, even if they cannot drink it. These are beings broken by life, docile under the blows of the whip, without ever understanding or questioning their suffering. And yet, I don't know how to break this vicious circle. If they were offered freedom, they would immediately seek a new master. They were born oxen and will remain oxen. No matter the efforts to awaken them, society and their master will always bring them back to their initial condition. Our only consolation is that they do not perceive their servitude. For as long as they do not see their chains, they can believe themselves free and, perhaps, be happy.