EAT ME
A catalogue is a collection of samples; a sampler implies a selection of these samples. Santiago Taccetti (Buenos Aires, 1974) has carefully selected the materials used to construct his pieces. Purchased at Home Mart (Mexico City) while acting as one more shopper anxious to decorate his flat or create a smart gadget for home use, Santiago traverses every aisle collecting the material representation of the bourgeoisie’s dream that unable to differentiate between simulation and reality, attaches greater importance to looking the part than actually being It.
Eat me is a challenge aggressive and sarcastic enough that dares you to ignore it, whilst observing the series of self-portraits constructed under high contrasts of color and artificial materials simulating wood or grass. Santiago exposes himself by inviting the spectator – and the critics – to devour him, to break his images into little pieces in the search for a meaning, to finally find out that the only real thing – and the meaning in itself- is the surface.
Santiago’s work always related to the aesthetics of consumption and appearance undergoes a transformation process in Eat me that turns him into the object and image of consumption, while simultaneously sending a subtle and ornate message on
bad taste.
Paola Santos Coy
Director La Panaderia
2000-2001