HISTORY ALREADY ABSOLVED ME
Puzzling Pop Series

The Puzzling Pop project expands with a provocative new series: History Already Absolved Me, featuring digital collage portraits meticulously crafted using fragments of butterfly wings.

This technique continues the artistic path of Puzzling Pop, launched in 2019 with Puzzling Warhol and later developed through works like "Fantastic Portrait", "Puzzling My Top Pop Icons, and the NFT series "Making Faces".

The first portrait in this series is dedicated to Vladimir Putin. The title reinterprets Fidel Castro’s famous statement during his trial after the failed Moncada assault in 1953: “Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.”

The artwork features a portrait alongside a brass plaque engraved with this phrase, all enclosed in an opulent black and gold classical frame. The contrast between the "neo-pop" aesthetic and the solemn frame enhances the work’s meaning, provoking reflection.

Beyond aesthetics, the piece challenges mainstream narratives. Like other leaders opposing the Western "liberal-democratic" system, Putin has been demonized through media and political propaganda, fueling Russophobia and shaping public perception.

This dynamic is not new. In 1961, President Eisenhower warned of the "military-industrial complex," an invisible force influencing politics and public opinion. Today, media and governments seem fully aligned with this logic, making it harder to distinguish reality from manipulation.

Since 9/11, information control in Western democracies has intensified, culminating in a single dominant narrative during the "psychopandemic"—a scenario reminiscent of dystopian fiction.

Yet even the most pervasive deceptions eventually crumble. History Already Absolved Me invites reflection on these themes, hoping awareness will one day prevail over manipulation.

The artwork was premiered in 2024 as part of the SAS Secret Apartment Show #SASVenice exhibition project during the latest Venice Biennale.