Visitors to the Salvador Dalí museum over the weekend were met with more surreal scenes than they might have expected. A man stripped naked, burst into the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figures, Italy, and cracked an egg over the painter’s tomb in homage to his uncanny, dreamlike works.
As originally reported by La Vanguardia, the man acted out a performance dance over Dalí’s tomb to mark the Surrealist’s 115th birthday, before smashing a large ceramic egg on its surface. Officials from the Salvador Dali Foundation said he then got dressed, cleaned up the debris, and left.
The naked man has been identified as Adrián Pino, a performance artist known for public stunts at various galleries and museums across Europe. On his Instagram, he refers to himself as “The boyfriend of Venus”, and is pictured posing naked in front of Michelangelo’s “David”, Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, and many other famous works.
Pino says his naked performances allow his body “to achieve the same status as the pieces I undress in front of.” Images from his latest grave-dancing appearance titled “Ou” (Egg) were uploaded to his social media platforms as part of his ongoing series, Project V, a “celebration of the classic nude”, which aims to “recover the mystical sense and ritual of art”.
Pino’s other performances are available to see on his Instagram.
Happy birthday, Dalí.