CruciFixion

“CruciFixión” is an interactive digital artwork that confronts the viewer with the image of Hello Kitty, a world-famous character that was primarily created for children, in the pose of the crucified Jesus Christ. The piece has a semi cartoonish art aesthetic. Interaction is key: By clicking anywhere on the screen, the viewer activates a flow of simulated blood emanating from wounds on the character’s head, hands and feet. This action symbolizes the perpetuation of suffering at the hands of an external will. The work addresses topics such as silenced physical and psychological abuse, the strong symbolic connection with religion and the deep feeling of loneliness. By making the pain, the blood, the interactive and user-controllable element, a stark parallel is established with the dynamics of abuse and the control that a third party exerts over the victim’s endless pain.

Technical, aesthetic and conceptual development

“CruciFixión” is a sketch created using p5.js The technical key is the interaction function and particle management. Upon detecting a mouse click event, the code executes the logic to generate and simulate the “blood rain.” This blood falls from the predefined coordinates of the head, hands and feet. The aesthetic is deliberately minimalist and raw, making the white color of the character and the background the setting for the interactive red of suffering. Visual sobriety forces reflection, prioritizing the concept over graphic richness, a common aesthetic gesture in early digital art and Net Art.

Conceptually, the work is a powerful social critique and a commentary on the loss of innocence. By placing the global emblem of the harmless childhood and important character in my life (Hello Kitty) with the symbol of maximum sacrifice and pain (the Crucifixion), the implicit violence that individuals suffer from childhood is addressed. Hello Kitty, devoid of a mouth, also becomes the perfect metaphor for the victim who cannot express her pain or psychological abuse.

Interactivity is the conceptual core, transforming the viewer into an agent of pain. Following ideas about the performativity of code (Arns, 2005), the action of clicking is not just a technical event, but an “act” that perpetuates the work and suffering encoded. The crucified self does not control the end of its agony; The user, the “other”, is the one who determines the intensity and repetition of the bleeding, symbolizing the relationship of power and control in the abuse.

As for references, the use of a pre-existing and massive cultural object (Hello Kitty) to give it a subversive meaning, reminds us of the iconoclastic spirit of Marcel Duchamp (Aira, 2013) and the ready-made technique. On the other hand, the exploration of suffering and vulnerability, although mediated by the screen, touches sensitive fibers of Body Art. In summary, “CruciFixion” uses New Media (Fricke, 1999) and code as a tool of emotional shock and social reflection.

Literature

Arns, Inke (2005). Código: el acto de habla performativo. En Media Art Net. Fricke, Christiane (1999). Nuevos medios: arte en el umbral de lo digital. Múnich: Prestel. Aira, César (2013). Sobre el arte contemporáneo. Buenos Aires: Random House Mondadori.