Catch-Up With Empires

1047 g | 265 × 951 × 58 mm | Latina, Italy

Acquired in: René Benko’s Villa Ansaldi, Italy

Description: 1l Ketchup in a bottle of white PET. White lid of plastic. Virgin, unopened bottle. Label made of paper – contains usage marks. Expired on 01-06-2025.

Fun facts: Scraches on the lable, where it reads the amount of shuggar? Did this belong to someone who didn’t like to be confronted with the bare facts?

Benko’s trace: The unopened bottle bears the silent testimony of a man who built empires – and saw them fall. The label – scratched exactly where the sugar content once stood clear – whispers of avoidance, of denial, of truths too hard to face. Expired on June 1, 2025, yet eternally preserved as a reminder how normal a live of excess can be.