Gasmask n°2

On a background of oxidized metal stands the formula for Hydrocyanic Acid, the famous Zyklon-B.
On the sides, it is accompanied by two skulls and a gas mask.

Few or almost non-existent ornamental traces: the drama of the subject allows no room for decorations.
Only tragedy and fear matter, companions and sisters.
As Baudelaire said, "...death and debauchery are two amiable whores."

A design that synthesizes content and formal execution. If we were to look for a reference, it would be Rembrandt, the artist who knew how to make printmaking not an illustrative exercise but a true expressive technique like any other.

The meaning, therefore, is to transform this object into a memento mori; the artist who realized the Gasmask 2 design directly addresses those responsible for the horrors of the twentieth century, the armies, and their follies.

All historians and critics have always wondered what differentiated a work of art from an ordinary object, and the answer has always been the presence of a meaning beyond the signifier, a content, and a form.
The value of the work is given by how much these two elements coincided.

Here the meaning is drama, and the engraving is raw and sharp, which is tangible proof of being in front of a true work of art.

This dramatic and aggressive subject was realized on the helmet, entirely laminated in copper leaf and enriched with pictorial interventions that simulate the weathered effect of oxidized sheets.

The artistic execution utilized the drypoint engraving technique, the use of graphite, and other special techniques.

Several layers of tone-on-tone airbrushed bronze hues and the matte satin finish combine to create the interesting range of warm bronze and copper shades.