A part of the artist’s project "In Praise of Folly," which he based on the self-diagnostic addiction recovery acronym HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired), this artwork presents an amplified rendering of the state of tiredness. In addiction recovery, HALT is used to identify the four triggers that, if not satisfied or quelled, can lead to potential relapse. The hubcap contains a cold-cast urethane face — a protruding, grimacing face, comically exaggerating fatigue as a comment on our collective disengagement and burnout in a post-pandemic society. Yet, this artwork also reminds us to stop, look inward, and identify our feelings to navigate the world.

Working in sculpture and installation, Jonathan Santoro utilizes fractured narratives borrowed from mass culture, existential theater, and pop psychology to create paradoxical images where nothing is what it initially appears to be. He uses the slippages between form and language to explore alienation, societal fractures, and the human condition within contemporary American life. Creating visual misnomers that literalize figures of speech in concretized form, Santoro’s work employs pop cultural references, humor, and cartoonish intervention to undercut tragedy.