Holy Shit
2025
60 tins and transparent adhesive paper
7.3 x 5.5 cm (each tin)
In 1961, Piero Manzoni canned his own Merde d’artista as a provocation against the art market and the figure of the creato is an interpretation of that iconic work that is transferred to a local problem caused by mass tourism in Galicia. A tourism that, in addition to literally polluting the fields, produces the loss of local culture, environmental degradation or the increase in the cost of living.
Instead of “artist’s shit”, I present a limited edition of 60 cans of “pilgrim’s shit”, converted into an ironic souvenir. Each piece is unique, as it is covered with a different stampt from the Camino de Santiago, repositioned as an industrial label. The text, printed in Galician, English and German, makes this a product ready for tourist consumption.
The literal translation of the title —in addition to being a colloquial English expression that denotes surprise— is “holy shit”, to speak with humor and crudene of material and immaterial traces in a context of supposed spiritual renewal.
