Imagine he was ugly — Lena Kalleitner

imagine he was ugly (working title), 2025

2 channel video installation, PLA prints

The artwork imagine he was ugly is a provocative exploration of the surreal veneration surrounding the folk hero Luigi Mangione. The piece grapples with the unsettling phenomenon of social media's fervent glorification of Mangione for an act of violence—killing someone—that has bizarrely transformed him into a mythological figure.

Central to the piece is a looping animation featuring an altar honoring Mangione like a divine figure, alongside replicas of his gun performing a ritualistic dance in homage.

Surrounding the altar are 3D-printed excerpts of fan fiction sourced online, including romanticized and explicit (smut) stories about him. By blending the sacred, absurd, and profane, the work critiques the unsettling ways online culture mythologizes flawed figures through obsession and virality.