Eva & Franco Mattes

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What Has Been Seen (2017)

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

Taxidermy cat, microwave ovens, erased hard drives, lights.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

The hard drives have been microwaved, erasing all data.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, What Has Been Seen

 

 

The work is based on the “What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen” meme. An Internet axiom which states that repulsive, disturbing, or horrific sights can never be erased from memory once they have been seen. The original quote, which likely inspired the meme, reads: “Once a profound truth has been seen, it cannot be unseen. There’s no going back to the person you were. Even if such a possibility did exist… why would you want to?”