The Inside Joke
My latest artwork, "Nothing To See Here," is equal parts social commentary and part of the ongoing Halloween theme while also serving as an inside joke for those who understand its deeper meaning. On the surface, it features a skeleton posing in a fashion shoot, pulling down its sunglasses with effortless confidence. It appears playful and lighthearted, but like the others in this year’s skeletal collection, there is much more beneath the surface. This piece is part of my larger series, "The Inside Joke" (you can see the full gallery at elvissantana.com), and continues my exploration into the theme of narcissism. It reflects how people on social media present themselves as compassionate, loving, and caring — the perfect friend, girlfriend or wife, the perfect father or mother — while behind the facade exists a selfish, cruel, and emotionally hollow person who only cares for themselves.
"Nothing To See Here" is a mirror held up to the modern world, where validation and performance replace authenticity and empathy. It exposes how many navigate life by using person after person in an endless pursuit of validation through love bombing, affairs, promiscuity, manipulation, and deceit — all to feed the ego of a hurt soul still bleeding from a childhood wound of neglect and abandonment. The skeleton becomes the perfect metaphor for this emptiness, the hollow being that remains once all the charm and pretense are stripped away. Through bright tones and eerie contrasts, the painting reminds us that what glitters on the surface often hides something broken beneath.
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Private Collection
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/174742470?ref=studio-promote