Dec 7, 2024 – Feb 23, 2025
Wisrah C. V. da R. Celestino
Pigs, 2022
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Pigs, 2022
Set of piggy banks
Various materials, variable dimensions
Unique, with certificate
950 €
sold out
In Pigs (2022), Wisrah C. V. da R. Celestino disrupts the function of piggy banks – objects that may symbolize savings, security, and personal economic growth – by removing their bottoms, voiding them of their intended purpose. The artist collected the piggy banks during a three-month trip through Germany and Switzerland, which also served as a personal examination of the conditions of contemporary late capitalism. The arrangement of different animal figures – from pigs to lions – is a playful yet poignant critique of capital, accumulation, and preservation. By robbing the objects of their ability to hold money, V. da R. Celestino comments on the material and symbolic mechanisms through which currency is stored and presented. The pieces date from different decades, from the 1920s to the 2020s, allowing the viewer to reflect on how a cultural artifact has come to represent economic habits, design tastes,and values over time.