Natura Morta / The Feast Painting

Natura Morta means still life in Italian yet literally translated; it means dead nature. A similar translation of still life can be found in the Serbo-Croatian language. “Mrtva Priroda.” Greif Lazic’s Natura Morta is a series of collages made from free advertisement catalog cut-outs. These cheaply produced brochures are available in supermarkets or are delivered to you with the daily mail. In those, viewers are continuously bombarded with images of meat and animal products showcased in, what is supposed to be, an appealing and tasty way. This form of presentation is well known and often used to distract potential buyers from the inconvenient truth behind the product. It is creating a disconnected perception between life and death. Natura Morta is pushing this idea even further by using one of the archetypes of beauty: flowers. — In this still life, the dark side of the beautiful flowers reviles itself only by paying close attention. Meat, sausages, fish, eggs, and other animal food products are the parts of the flowers and plants and are, when realized, creating a moment of surprise and shock.