This work was born from a reflection on what truly makes a snake a snake, not only in form, but in personality, instinct, and presence. The thought came from a discovery I made about the rat snake, a non-venomous snake that, if threatened, will still eventually try to strike. Even without poison, it remains dangerous to approach, because attack is part of its nature. That idea stayed with me and became the core of the piece: it is not the poison that makes a snake a snake.

For that reason, inside the belly of the figure I placed the phrase “It is not the poison that makes a snake a snake.”What interested me was the idea that danger is not defined only by what a creature carries inside, but by its instinct, its reaction, and the truth of its character.

At the center of the piece is my well-known Kouros. The word kouros comes from ancient Greek and means “young man” or “youth.” In art history, the Kouros refers to the archaic Greek sculptural type of the standing male figure, frontal, rigid, and idealized, often used as a symbol of youthful strength, presence, and permanence. In my version, however, that classical body is broken: this Kouros has no arms, no legs, and no eyes in the usual sense. Instead, the eyes are marked only by golden outlines, the inside of the mouth is also rendered in gold, and the same gold returns in the reflections of light within the calligraphic word “snake.” These details create a contrast between injury and value, absence and illumination.

This piece came from a painful realization. Many of the people I believed were my friends were, in truth, close to me only because of my position in my former studio. Once I left that space and opened my own, they disappeared, as if what tied them to me had never been friendship, but only status, convenience, and proximity to a certain environment. That experience taught me a lot, but it also hurt deeply.

Carrying that pain, and under the influence of the song Trust Nobody by Hippie Sabotage, I created this version of the Kouros with the background shaped through the presence of the song’s lyrics. On the belly, I placed the rat snake as the symbolic center of the work. Inside this fragmented body, the snake becomes a sign of instinct, betrayal, survival, and latent aggression. 

the lyrics that inspired me 

"

I don't trust nobody
I don't even trust my mind
Losin' everybody
They can never take the grind
People always switchin' sides
People always hit my line
Never ask me how I'm doin'
They just wanna waste my time
So I don't hate nobody
Just stay up out my lifeAnd I won't hurt nobody
So just stay up out my sights
People always hold me down
They just told me that I'd drown
When you livin' how I'm livin'
All these leeches come around'Cause we don't trust nobody
We don't even trust our minds
Losin' everybody
From them drugs to suicide
I was always gettin' high
Never took a look outside
I was livin' in the dark
Thinkin' I would never shineNow I got everybody
If I want it then it's mine
So I help everybody
I'm thinkin' back when it was time
I was broken, I was down
I was lost but now I'm found
I was fightin' in the trenches
With no one ever around
So fuck everybody
If you want it come and get it
I won't hurt nobody
I'm a motherfuckin' menace
I was showerin' at the school
I was sleepin' out the Civic
I was skippin' on my meals
I was reachin' all my limitsI don't trust nobody
I don't even trust my mind
I'm losin' everybody
They can never take the grind
People always switchin' sides
People always hit my line
Never ask me how I'm doin'
They just wanna waste my time
So I don't hate nobody
Just stay up out my life
And I won't hurt nobodySo just stay up out my sights
People always hold me down
They just told me that I'd drown
When you livin' how I'm livin'
All these leeches come around'Cause they robbed all my money
And I'll never get it back
I don't fault nobody
'Cause I'm comin' fuckin' back
I just listen to my lawyers
But the judge don't listen back
See they got this full disclosure
And they comin' for my neck
They don't know shit about me
So just give me my respect
All the music that I've made
I ain't never got a checkI been doin' all this shit
With like two hands behind my back
I just focus on my shows
'Cause that's the only thing that's left
You don't know shit about me
That's the reason why you don't come around me
You're scared of me cause I'm talkin' loudly
You can blow that smoke
Won't come around meYou can talk that shit but don't know about it
I see that shit don't talk about it
But I will spray no silver at it
'Cause it's five years
I don't own shit and I'm still drivin' 

Like fuck

"