This artwork is a visually striking and surreal composition that fuses vintage aesthetics with modern concerns about digital culture. The image depicts a stylized figure, likely from the mid-20th century, dressed in traditional costume and eating with an intense gaze, overlaid with intricate patterns of birds, flowers, and surreal elements such as floating eyeballs and butterflies. Above his head, another figure is depicted upside down, smiling with a phone in hand, symbolizing the omnipresent digital world.

A central flower blooms on her head, evoking notions of growth, beauty, and distraction. The delicate, dreamlike linework contrasts with the crisp, imperative text box in the corner, which reads:

“TEAR OUT YOUR EYES!!!”
If all else fails, stop looking! Take a break and stop obsessively checking your follower count or client list.
Look inside yourself instead.
What are you working on right now? A new business? Personal projects?
Everyone shares their best self. Be more of your best self.”

This text is both a shocking provocation and a gentle reminder. It critiques compulsive habits of digital comparison and encourages introspection and authenticity. The phrase "rip your eyes out" is metaphorical, dramatic, yet effective, encouraging viewers to detach themselves from the addictive gaze of social media and reconnect with their inner creative world.

General interpretation:

This work explores themes of digital overload, self-image, and mental fragmentation, prompting a return to the search for personal purpose and artistic focus. It blends beauty and discomfort, drawing the viewer in before challenging them to confront their own habits of consumption and comparison with others.

🧡 Discover more about the artist Marie Neels HERE !

Frame

• Not framed

Colors

• Yellow
• White
• Blue
• Orange

Dimensions