In the series of works EAT I, II and III, Maria Szakats draws from Heinrich von Kleist’s book Penthesilea – a subject that the artist has previously explored – to unravel the intense and potentially overwhelming nature of desire and connection. Using mohair yarn, she creates a soft, blurred aesthetic that amplifies the emotional ambivalence of intimacy, exploring a space where closeness might feel both alluring and overwhelming. This delicate texture blurs boundaries, allowing beauty and repulsion to coexist and challenging viewers to see intimacy as a layered, multifaceted experience. Through this series of pieces, Szakats studies how desire can be as consuming as it is connective, emphasising intimacy's inherent complexity.