Followers
Acrylic on Cotton Canvas | 80x100 cm
In Followers, Piccasi explores the dangerous tendency to measure our self-worth by the number of followers we accumulate. Drawing a stark contrast between the lives of Jesus—who had only 12 disciples—and the millions of followers of historical figures like Hitler, this piece challenges the modern obsession with digital validation. In an era where screen time dominates, Followers reminds us that our true value lies not in the quantity of our followers, but in the quality of our relationships.
The painting’s black-and-white palette emphasizes the rigid, fixed mindset that often arises from focusing on numbers, reducing the rich complexity of human individuality to a simple tally. This outlook distorts the world, making it uncomfortable to look at, much like the way a singular, dogmatic view of life fails to acknowledge the nuances of personal identity and freedom.
Hitler’s followers are depicted as soldiers in alignment, referencing both Piccasi’s personal military experience and the famous psychological experiments by Solomon Asch. These experiments demonstrated how people are often willing to blindly follow authority, even in the face of morally questionable choices. Through this visual, Piccasi asks: In a moment of pressure, when confronted by authority, what would you do? Would you follow, or would you dare to question?
While all humans are followers at times, unable to rely on their prefrontal cortex at every moment, Followers encourages us to step back and consider who we choose to follow—and, more importantly, why. To break free from a world of black and white thinking, we must continually examine our choices and cultivate the freedom to make decisions that reflect our values and individuality.
Acrylic on Cotton Canvas | 80x100 cm
In Followers, Piccasi explores the dangerous tendency to measure our self-worth by the number of followers we accumulate. Drawing a stark contrast between the lives of Jesus—who had only 12 disciples—and the millions of followers of historical figures like Hitler, this piece challenges the modern obsession with digital validation. In an era where screen time dominates, Followers reminds us that our true value lies not in the quantity of our followers, but in the quality of our relationships.
The painting’s black-and-white palette emphasizes the rigid, fixed mindset that often arises from focusing on numbers, reducing the rich complexity of human individuality to a simple tally. This outlook distorts the world, making it uncomfortable to look at, much like the way a singular, dogmatic view of life fails to acknowledge the nuances of personal identity and freedom.
Hitler’s followers are depicted as soldiers in alignment, referencing both Piccasi’s personal military experience and the famous psychological experiments by Solomon Asch. These experiments demonstrated how people are often willing to blindly follow authority, even in the face of morally questionable choices. Through this visual, Piccasi asks: In a moment of pressure, when confronted by authority, what would you do? Would you follow, or would you dare to question?
While all humans are followers at times, unable to rely on their prefrontal cortex at every moment, Followers encourages us to step back and consider who we choose to follow—and, more importantly, why. To break free from a world of black and white thinking, we must continually examine our choices and cultivate the freedom to make decisions that reflect our values and individuality.
Acrylic on Cotton Canvas | 80x100 cm
In Followers, Piccasi explores the dangerous tendency to measure our self-worth by the number of followers we accumulate. Drawing a stark contrast between the lives of Jesus—who had only 12 disciples—and the millions of followers of historical figures like Hitler, this piece challenges the modern obsession with digital validation. In an era where screen time dominates, Followers reminds us that our true value lies not in the quantity of our followers, but in the quality of our relationships.
The painting’s black-and-white palette emphasizes the rigid, fixed mindset that often arises from focusing on numbers, reducing the rich complexity of human individuality to a simple tally. This outlook distorts the world, making it uncomfortable to look at, much like the way a singular, dogmatic view of life fails to acknowledge the nuances of personal identity and freedom.
Hitler’s followers are depicted as soldiers in alignment, referencing both Piccasi’s personal military experience and the famous psychological experiments by Solomon Asch. These experiments demonstrated how people are often willing to blindly follow authority, even in the face of morally questionable choices. Through this visual, Piccasi asks: In a moment of pressure, when confronted by authority, what would you do? Would you follow, or would you dare to question?
While all humans are followers at times, unable to rely on their prefrontal cortex at every moment, Followers encourages us to step back and consider who we choose to follow—and, more importantly, why. To break free from a world of black and white thinking, we must continually examine our choices and cultivate the freedom to make decisions that reflect our values and individuality.