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@ Flo Montoya
2025-05-21 01:02:57
HIDDEN TAX
70 x 50 cm
Ink on paper
Edition of 9 original hand-printed and signed pieces.
Place your bid here: https://scarce.city/auctions/hidden-tax
HIDDEN TAX exposes the invisible yet devastating consequences of inflation. The central image is a photograph taken in 2014 at La Vega Central in Santiago, Chile, one of the country’s most iconic and bustling open-air markets, known for its fruit, vegetable, and everyday food stalls. The scene captures typical price signs, once a common sight. But today, those prices seem almost surreal, a reminder of how drastically the cost of basic goods has changed.
The image is intervined by adding irregularly shaped zeroes (organic, blot-like forms that suggest uncontrolled, even pathological growth). These marks distort the original prices and hint that things could still get worse. The color red, traditionally used in these signs as a cheerful and attention-grabbing hue, takes on a new meaning here. It becomes jarring, even violent, reminiscent of blood. A visceral symbol of the economic pain inflation causes.
Accompanying the image is a playful yet ironic text, where I offer my own definition of the word “inflation,” with a tone that is both accessible and critical. Finally, the use of bright orange in the final printed layer acts as a call to action: OPT OUT. The piece shifts from critique to possibility. It invites the viewer to consider an alternative to this “hidden tax”: Bitcoin.
Check out the PoW here: https://youtube.com/shorts/TRzD1WvX0_E?si=pb-s2bqP5dAY4I4j
https://blossom.primal.net/91a61bb9d91d909455321488fec301f598b1332a75ab62f7fca506a732a41d6e.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/f822a958adac76c3bc26b71c41af98295a117b8d765d1cc9f74ed1da8848a20f.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/326896ba2cbb81ed3c35f80ba8118c7b2236c20e3c443ed63e75f7802e1c553f.jpg