A follow-up to the original “Self Portrait,” this piece builds on the absurd yet unsettling tension between iconography, trauma, and spectacle. The exaggerated expression, the crucifixion pose, and the cartoon absurdity push the viewer into a space that’s at once ridiculous and painfully honest.

 

This time, the character is barcoded, tagged, and fully commodified — the fruit of identity processed, packaged, and sold. The Nutrition Facts label, drawn directly from USDA data on eggplants, isn’t just a joke — it’s a commentary on how even nourishment and suffering are quantified and converted into content.

 

The aesthetic language mimics consumer packaging and corporate branding — but here, the messiah is purple, panicked, and hilarious. It becomes a stand-in for the artist, the creator, and the performer — nailed to a moment in time where self-expression becomes a marketable event, and pain becomes a product.

 

At its core, Eggplant Jesus II is a self-portrait in disguise: confessional, satirical, and deeply wired into a culture of overexposure and distorted meaning.