Iluá Hauck da Silva

Duchampian Dystopias

Be My Medici (after Leonardo da Vinci), 2009.

‘Be My Medici’ was specifically developed to be displayed in a light box in Hoxton, which belongs to artist and curator Mustafa Hulusi. It addresses the relationship between artists and patrons, and the viability of democratisation of art and efficacy of public art.
By adding my face onto the Mona Lisa’s, as well as the writing ‘Be My Medici’ over the image, I have created a satirical image, which gives continuation to what I perceive to be an ongoing dialogue with the Mona Lisa and other artists. This conversation began in 1919, when Marcel Duchamp added a moustache and a goat beard to Mona Lisa’s face, and called his piece L.H.O.O.Q. (if read in French, the sound of these letters mean ‘She has a hot arse’).

Salome (after Cesare da Sesto), 2010.

Christian iconography and narratives profoundly inspire me. Here, I have digitally intervened with Cesare da Sesto’s ‘Salome’, which stands in The National Gallery, London. The head of Saint John the Baptist has been replaced with that of of art collector Charles Saatchi's, whilst Salome’s face has been substituted by my own face, thus adding a contemporary twist and meaning to the infamous story of Salome. Ambivalence towards the art establishment is a sentiment which most artists will feel at some point during their careers. Salome’s obstinate - yet somewhat conflicted - attitude seems to perfectly conjure this conundrum.

The Rape of the Eurozone (after Boucher), 2013.

The Rape of the Eurozone (after Boucher),
shows the moment Zeus, in the form of a
bull, is about to abduct and rape Europa,
a Phoenician noble woman. The digital
manipulation of this painting evokes the
playfulness of L.H.O.O.Q., by Duchamp.
The bull’s horns, replaced by the Euro
symbol, and the EU flag, which forms
a halo around Europa’s head, together
with the nymphs, who pour down the
symbols of obsolete European currencies,
re-construct this image as a satirical
observation of how Europe is being torn
apart by the adoption of the Euro. Like
Europa, Europe failed to foresee the
consequences ahead.

The Sleep of Integrity Invalidates Reason (after Goya), 2011.

This work is an update on ‘The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters’ by Francisco Goya. In contemporary
times Reason seems to be wide-awake. However, lack of integrity when applying reason,
invalidates it. Warfare, corruption, and science without scrupulous, are examples of this.
Hence, the wolves, owls, and bats of Goya’s original have been replaced; warplanes, and the
mushroom cloud of a nuclear detonation are now seen in the background. The epitome of
reason is here invalidated as Albert Einstein’s nuclear discoveries are used for destruction.
The sign where the man of the Enlightenment is asleep reads ‘The Sleep of Integrity
Invalidates Reason’.