Actual Size  1994
Acrylic on woven canvas  29 x 39”  

The source book I had identified Serrasalmus piraya as the largest piranha in the world, growing up to 22 inches long.   I had this painting displayed in my studio when the head of the department of ichthyology for the American Museum of Natural History came by and said "bull."   So much for trusting everything you read in books.

Here, submerged in the background are goldfish, piranha jaws, and severed fingertips, representing this fish in its natural habitat and at its violent intersection with mankind.