Souveniers of Consumption
ARTIST STATEMENT
In this series, Souvenirs of Consumption, I explore the paradox of our relationship with the natural world and the unseen legacy of human leisure. The Adriatic's rocky coastline, celebrated for its pristine beauty, is here reframed as a repository of our unwanted memories. Our presence is fleeting, and we often seek a keepsake or souvenir to capture the joy of a vacation. But what we leave behind—our trash—is perhaps the most honest souvenir of all: a lasting record of our passing.
Through constructed still lifes, I formalise this dialogue, arranging found detritus objects—a discarded plastic bottle, a forgotten shoe, or a single-use bag—alongside decaying organic matter. This visual juxtaposition reveals a silent tragedy: the fleeting impermanence of nature’s cycle set against the stubborn permanence of our material culture. Ultimately, the series transforms the grotesque into the sublime, functioning as a contemporary memento mori that confronts us with our own ecological footprint.
