Uebliches Gehabe

In this image, I explore what I perceive as “typical behavior”, for example, in everyday work life. To me, it depicts a situation in which men, in particular, try to outdo one another, puff themselves up, fight, and act as if everything depends on them. The scene seems cluttered, almost chaotic: bodies, animals, and movements intertwine, and everything is in conflict. This excess symbolizes the constant power struggle, which often has more to do with ego than with actual necessity. The monkeys in the bottom left symbolize the desire to "please one another" in leadership positions. They think highly of one another even though some of their behaviors seem particularly questionable. On the right side of the picture are the women. They observe the whole scene with a certain detachment, almost in amazement. To me, however, they are actually the ones who “hold the reins.” They see right through this pompous behavior and know that this posturing is, at its core, completely unnecessary. The image thus presents an exaggerated, almost ironic portrayal of power, ego, and gender roles. And questions who is really in control in the end.