THE SNOUT OF THE PRESENT

The tooth crushes and cuts the food. Rows of teeth form a horseshoe-shaped edge. Our first conquered territory, defined by each bite. In streams of saliva and fire, everything is crushed, melted, and finally burned. In the flames, more horseshoes are hidden, and within them, others, and so on, repeatedly. In every dimension, the basic unit of measurement is the capacity of the mouth, and time flows in rhythm with digestive processes. From the hellish fires of our diseased entrails, the Snout of the present emerges, dazed by the heartburn of underestimation. The exhibition was created in reference to the biblical iconographic motif of the hellmouth—an apocalyptic depiction of the abyss of hell, filled with monsters and demons who inflict intricate tortures on sinful souls. In the face of global, uncontrolled consumption, technological development, escalating social tensions, and erupting armed conflicts, we are haunted by apocalyptic anxiety. The contemporary world vibrates, seeming to be consumed and digested by a demonic beast. The invited artists work with metaphor and symbolism, referencing various cultural sources and codes in their practice. The works presented in the exhibition create a multilayered narrative, where meanings and symbols serve as interpretative keys to the complex structure of the present world. Consumption is one of the essential conditions for biological existence. The way an animal processes its surroundings is directly related to consumption. It is intuitive to divide, portion, and ration, even when it is not about direct consumption. Through this consumptive lens, we look at the human beast with the invited artists, a beast with which we have at least partially come to identify.