Dn't Ask Why reveals a hidden poem (below) when the viewer scans the QR code on the back of the work and holds their smartphone up to the image of the tiger. The poem is an existential rhyme inspired by the phrase from Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch Who Stole Christmas ("The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season. Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason."). The poem—which alternates between encouraging the reader to ask "Why" and to "Dn't Ask Why," and ends with a series of censored words—reflects on the artist's tendency to flip between analysis, surrender, and self-censorship. The appropriated phrase bears little resemblance to its original meaning, while maintaining Dr. Seuss's playfulness with language. That this back-and-forth is latent (i.e. only fully seen when the AR is activated), makes the painting feel as though it has an inner and outer self. It speaks to a commonplace tension in humans who often feel as though their outer selves can only ever be approximations of richer and more complex inner selves.

The augmented reality VFX and sound is by Francisco García Nava, whom the artist has been working with since 2022.

For video documentation on vimeo, see: here.

Courtesy of the artist.

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For more information contact: info@Interreality.art.