In a thought-provoking blend of art and criticism, the Spanish collective known as Quatre Caps has embarked on a journey to juxtapose classical beauty with modern dilemmas. Their series, aptly named “Not Longer Life”, transforms iconic still-life compositions into striking commentary on today’s consumerist landscape. Inspired by masters like Monet and Caravaggio, Quatre Caps injects stark modern elements into their pieces, framing a conversation around the waste and excess prevalent in contemporary society. Through their vivid reinterpretations, the architectural artists draw attention to the environmental cost of convenience, urging a reconsideration of the packaged world that masks nature’s original designs.
Art becomes a message in this series, showing how vibrant fruits and opulent vessels from the past are replaced with plastic-wrapped produce and disposable containers. The visuals raise crucial questions about sustainability and our feeble attempts at remedying a growing problem. As plastic production trends toward astronomical figures, the series portrays the superficial fixes that fail to address the root of the issue, such as excessive packaging that adds layers of artificiality to our daily lives. This artistic endeavor serves not only as a testament to creativity but also as an urgent call to rethink consumption patterns, creating an imaginative space where preindustrial purity meets modern reality’s complexities.
It is estimated that in 2020 the plastic production will reach around 500 millions tones. Most of them will take approximately 600 years to biodegrade. Far from finding a real solution to this problem, the few measeures taken to face this problem are populist and with the only purpose of making an image cleanup instead of tackling the issue. We are not aware of the energetic consumption and the environmental impact that means using an absurd plastic wrapping. Meanwhile, thousands of products are being comercialized, doubling and tripling a synthetic skin or even worst, taking the place of their natural wrapping skin with a plastic package in order to ‘ease’ their consumption.
Quatre Caps
More info: Website, Instagram.
Luis Egidio Meléndez
Caravaggio
Abraham Van Beyeren
Sánchez Cotán
Monet
Still Life
