Karnivor 2017

Eckart Hahn made this strange painting, Karnivor. I love the way he's got this flat, almost surreal light that makes the whole scene feel staged, like a diorama in a natural history museum. The animal bodies have a glossy sheen, but the painting itself has a slightly matte finish, which gives it an odd, almost photographic feel. There’s a kind of precision here which feels both controlled and unsettling. Look closely at the way the red rope is rendered, so meticulously, coiling around the panther’s legs like a strange kind of bondage. It makes you wonder about the relationship between power and vulnerability. Hahn reminds me a bit of Magritte, with his juxtaposition of unlikely objects and a shared interest in creating an atmosphere of enigmatic calm. But Hahn takes it a step further, adding an element of baroque theatricality. This piece isn't just about what we see, but how we see, how we negotiate the strange and often contradictory narratives that unfold before us.