ARTIST PROFILE

Zsolt Asztalos

  • Hungary (b. 1974)
  • Currently in Budapest, Hungary.
To Die for a Principle

To Die for a Principle

  • 2017
  • Installation
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    To Die for a Principle | 2017

The exhibited installation of Zsolt Asztalos is a monument set up to be a memento for people who throughout history had died for their principles. Framed series of photographs, books and personal items bear witness to the heroes on living room “Ikea” shelves, hiding the essence of their gallantry, commitment to principles, devotion and consistency into a conformist still life. Zsolt Asztalos’ exhibition studies the impact of morality and principles, commercialized mentality of our time and ideas of capitalism by evolving the imitation of a personal space (living room) to a public space (gallery). According to our knowledge, humans are the only creatures in wildlife who live by consciously chosen principles and ideas. Every creature instinctively aims to survive. Our biological organisms are defensive down to a cellular level. They are constantly fighting to stay alive. However humans are not only physical but intellectual beings too. We have conscious ideas about the world. These conscious ideas change through time, cultures, countries, religions or even from person to person. Humans are capable of overriding their physical instincts by their principles, sometimes even capable of going against their physical existence with the help of principles. What are those principles and why would humans even be ready to give up their physical existence for an idea? The moral contrast can be perceived between the furnishings and the pictures of the heroes. The installation that imitates a personal monument studies the acts and the dynamics of remembrance, and the conception of ambition and principle.