FEEDING THE DAEMON: I EAT; THEREFORE I AM

INSPIRATION

This project draws on the ideas of two philosophers who shaped how we understand perception and experience: René Descartes and Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

Descartes, writing in the 17th century, is well known for the phrase “I think, therefore I am.” He imagined a world in which our senses could not be trusted—possibly manipulated by a force he called the daemon. For Descartes, truth had to be reached through reason alone, separated from the body and the uncertainty of everyday life.

Merleau-Ponty, writing in the 20th century, offered a different approach. He argued that we are not separate from the world but always part of it. We understand the world through our bodies, our senses, and our memories. He described perception as layered and partial—less about clarity, more about contact.

By the time Merleau-Ponty was writing, pizza had become part of everyday life—folded, shared, eaten by hand. He found ways to think about reality in slices—fragments of experience held together by feeling and gesture. Descartes couldn’t quite digest that. This project invites you to share your own slices of contemporary life, in dialogue with a daemon of your own.

DAEMON IN THE LID

For this collaboration with Unlock Pizza and John Javier, I’ve designed a limited-edition pizza box with a printed image of my own daemon on the inside of the lid. The artwork isn’t hidden under the food—it’s visible as the box is opened.

The daemon isn’t there to provoke or deceive. It’s a presence—something to sit with while eating. It appears as part of the moment, alongside the marks we leave behind: smudges, folds, grease, crumbs. It asks us to take notice. To treat even familiar gestures—like reaching for a slice—as worth reflecting on.

OPEN CALL EXHIBITION

As part of the project, we’re inviting people to create artworks that fit inside a standard pizza box (maximum 33 × 33 cm, any depth). The theme is open. You can respond to the daemon, to the act of eating, to the idea of the box as a container—or bring something entirely your own.

Selected works will be presented as part of an evolving exhibition at Unlock Pizza. A portion of proceeds from any sales will go to a local charity.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN

This project is about making space for reflection within everyday routines. It’s an invitation to pause, to consider the edges of experience that often go unnoticed. We’re not aiming to resolve anything. Instead, we’re paying attention to the spaces between—what Merleau-Ponty called the in-between—where the body is both present and perceiving, active and affected.

The daemon sits in that space. It’s not distant or abstract. It’s right there, printed on the lid, present as you eat. It doesn’t demand much. Just a moment.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Theme: Art that fits in a pizza box

Box size: Max 33 × 33 cm x 5 cm

Media: Anything goes: drawing, sculpture, photography, writing, object-based work and so on…

Deadline: 15 May 2025

Submissions: Here

Selection panel: Abbas Zahedi, Cem A. (@freeze_magazine), Anna & Gio (Unlock Pizza)