Imperium Tamarrae – The General of the Labyrinth

This commanding piece features the portrait of an imagined Roman general, inspired by imperial busts and Renaissance profiles, adorned with a theatrical armor that blurs the line between historical gravitas and playful exaggeration.

Behind him unfolds a stark black & white labyrinth, symbolizing the complexity of thought, modern decision-making, and the overstimulation of the media age. His armor, richly decorated with patterns and visual fragments assembling headlines, mosaics, or digital noise becomes a metaphor for the layered identity of contemporary figures of power.

The artwork is composed of hand aligned glazed ceramic tiles, mounted on a stylized Ionic column base that bears poetic Latin inscriptions acting as a philosophical manifesto:

• “EX FAMA VIVERE, NON EST VIVERE” – To live by reputation is not to live

• “CONIUNGE PRAESENS TUUM” – Connect your present

• “ILLUSIONA FUTURUM TUUM” – Enchant your future

• “VIVIMUS IN CIRCULO TEMPORIS ET KARMAE” – We live in the circle of time and karma

The ornate gold frame reinforces the artwork’s theatrical presence, bridging the gap between classical authority and ironic kitsch a signature of Kitsch & Huis, where the ancient dialogues with the vulgar, and excess becomes a language of its own.