What will the cities of the future look like? Will they be places where we all speak the same language, or new Towers of Babel where no one truly understands each other? Will they guarantee equal rights for all citizens, or will they turn into vertical fortresses where each person, clinging to their own privileges, becomes increasingly isolated?
In Babele, MaoSagao reflects on the fragility of urban coexistence. The work presents a stylized cityscape where architectural forms rise and overlap without touching, creating an image of connection that is only superficial. Behind the order of the composition lies a subtle tension – an absence of dialogue, a multiplication of silences.
Inspired by the myth of Babel, the piece avoids nostalgia and instead questions the social and political structure of contemporary cities. Are we building inclusive spaces or invisible walls? Are we getting closer to one another, or merely multiplying the distances under the illusion of progress?
Technically, Babele is executed through the method of acrylic masking on canvas – a precise, layered process in which each form is carefully constructed. In this work, the use of vertical repetition and controlled spacing amplifies the sense of artificial harmony and latent separation. The interplay of crisp edges and soft pastel tones reflects both a desire for unity and the persistent fragmentation that defines our shared spaces.
Babele invites us to pause and ask what kind of future we are really constructing: one of shared understanding, or one where difference becomes a pretext for separation.
