Screenshot of Ecce Animal by Diddo. (bydiddo.com)

With another controversial creation in the limelight, Diddo has yet again used his art to shock his viewers and provoke them into thinking deeply on the thoughts he presents so boldly. His latest work, Ecce Animal, is an annatomically accurate skull molded out of 15-20 percent pure cocaine and gelatin.

Despite a seemingly obvious conclusion, Ecce Animal was not the result of a tripping mind. Diddo did not try the drug himself, but had it laboratically tested for its potency and purity.

The imagery of skulls has been prevelant across many cultures and generations. Also, artists such as Damien Hirst and Alexander McQueen have popularized and commercialized skulls. What attracts attention to this piece is perhaps the substance used to make it, rather than the skull itself.

If you think the artist is merely making a statement on the abbhorent and deadly effects of substance abuse, Diddo insists he isn't. In the poetic artist's statement accompanying the work, Diddo has written:

Once we were animals.

Like any other, we lived in an environment of fear and want.

Then, we became 'human' and aspired to be better.

We learned to control our environment but the fear stayed,

because we never learned to control ourselves.

Diddo has further elaborated in an interview with Bullet media that this work, like most of his others, takes inspiration from the dynamic and perplexing qualities of human behavior. He goes on to explain,

"On one hand, we have vestigial animal instincts, without which we wouldn’t have survived our dangerous past. On the other, we are drawn to a communal lifestyle set in civilized societies.. it’s the fusion of two icons that provokes thought and discussion on the nature of man... and [his] participation in, a society which echoes his own tendency to lose control."

Screenshot of Ecce Animal close up. (bydiddo.com)

Diddo is one of the few talented artists who retains the message behind the work on par with its shock value. This work is an ideal example of how he can strongly back his controversial work with radical ideas. Be sure to check out Diddo and his other equally astonishing works on his website.

Interestingly, if you're wondering where all that coke came from, Diddo has mentioned in a description that the cocaine has been "street sourced." Also, since this piece is actually comissioned, it has compelled the artist into a binding non-disclousure agreement. This means that he cannot disclose the price, owner or location of the piece. No details about the cocaine, either. The enigma of Ecce Animal just keeps building up.

Reach Staff Reporter Vidhi here.