Works

This work explores “Schadenfreude,” a psychological concept referring to the subtle pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune or suffering. In contemporary society, where we constantly observe the lives of others through social media and mass media, comparison and envy easily arise, along with a hidden sense of comfort found in witnessing another person’s downfall. The work reinterprets these emotions through the primal human instinct of appetite. Here, the act of “eating” extends beyond survival and becomes a metaphor for satisfying and consuming desire. Just as hunger eventually returns no matter how full we become, human desire repeatedly moves between satisfaction and lack, continually seeking new objects to consume. This cycle parallels the nature of Schadenfreude, in which the misfortune of others is observed and consumed as a source of temporary comfort. The work presents the dining table as a space where human desire is repeatedly consumed, translating Schadenfreude into “a meal that consumes the misfortune of others.” By giving desire the form of food, the work asks us to consider what we look at, what we consume, and where we seek satisfaction in our everyday lives. Through this work, I hope to encourage viewers to reflect on the ways we consume the misfortunes of others and to confront an honest side of human nature that often remains hidden.