Dinner for one, 2023

The sculpture consists of an industrial steel barrel, its appearance suggesting either a trash can or a container for oil and chemicals. Protruding from the opening of this cylinder is a pair of legs clad in formal trousers and dress shoes, pointing rigidly upward as if the subject has taken a headfirst dive inside. Peering into the barrel reveals a bubbling black texture that simulates crude oil or toxic waste. The work uses visual irony to confront the social pressure of belonging. Under the title "Dinner for one," which alludes to exclusivity and the imperative to be seen in the right places, the piece materializes the reality of this social pursuit: a blind leap into a hazardous container simply to fit in.