Dutch artist diddo created this full-scale sculpture of a human skull made with street cocaine. The piece is entitled ‘”ecce animal”. The artist even took the cocaine to a research lab in order to verify its authenticity.
The sculpture intends to provoke thought and conversation about the nature of man, particularly our participation in society and the tension it often shares with our genetic makeup. an accompanying poem by diddo delves into the intended interpretations and conclusions one might take away from this piece.
Here’s the poem that diddi included with his piece:
‘ecce animal’
‘once we were animals.
like any other, we lived in an environment of fear and want.
then, we became ‘human’ and aspired to be better.
we learned to control our environment but the fear stayed,
because we never learned to control ourselves.
it is frightening to look at the face of our animal side laid bare
by comfortable excess; the spoils of its aggression.
but what exactly is it about this image that is so confronting?
is it this division in our idea of self?
or is it a realisation that though we have mastered the outside world,
we will always remain subservient to our inner selves.’
