Fábio Colaço Portugal, b. 1995
Fail, 2025
Bronze figurine.
Sculpture, 2,8 x 7 x 3,4 cm.
Plinth, 30 x 30 x 100 cm.
Plinth, 30 x 30 x 100 cm.
Edition 1 of 3
This is a sculptural intervention that reimagines a miniature Tesla Model S Plaid Hot Wheels car, meticulously cast in bronze and displayed on a wall plinth in an overturned position,...
This
is a sculptural intervention that reimagines a miniature Tesla Model S Plaid
Hot Wheels car, meticulously cast in bronze and displayed on a wall plinth in
an overturned position, evoking the aftermath of an accident. This seemingly
playful yet deeply ironic work serves as a critique and a symbol of contemporary
disillusionment, in the context of the growing wave of protests against Elon
Musk. By translating a mass-produced toy — an object associated with childhood
fantasies of speed and technological marvel — into a heavy and immutable bronze
artifact, the piece subverts its original connotations of progress and
aspiration. The deliberate staging of the overturned car amplifies this
rupture, transforming an icon of success and innovation into a symbol of
failure, instability and unintended consequences. Charged with political and
cultural resonance, this work deals with the contradictions of modern
techno-utopianism, where promises of a brighter future often collide with the
realities of power, labor exploitation and corporate overreach. In this frozen
moment of wreckage, the work invites reflection on the fragility of unchecked
ambition, questioning the narratives that drive contemporary capitalism and the
mythos surrounding its most polarizing figures.
is a sculptural intervention that reimagines a miniature Tesla Model S Plaid
Hot Wheels car, meticulously cast in bronze and displayed on a wall plinth in
an overturned position, evoking the aftermath of an accident. This seemingly
playful yet deeply ironic work serves as a critique and a symbol of contemporary
disillusionment, in the context of the growing wave of protests against Elon
Musk. By translating a mass-produced toy — an object associated with childhood
fantasies of speed and technological marvel — into a heavy and immutable bronze
artifact, the piece subverts its original connotations of progress and
aspiration. The deliberate staging of the overturned car amplifies this
rupture, transforming an icon of success and innovation into a symbol of
failure, instability and unintended consequences. Charged with political and
cultural resonance, this work deals with the contradictions of modern
techno-utopianism, where promises of a brighter future often collide with the
realities of power, labor exploitation and corporate overreach. In this frozen
moment of wreckage, the work invites reflection on the fragility of unchecked
ambition, questioning the narratives that drive contemporary capitalism and the
mythos surrounding its most polarizing figures.