In Fish begin to stink by the head (Bring justice into oblique line) Rico composes a human figure out of steel rods, a screen, and a firefighter jacket. With dismembered body parts composed of industrial materials, the structure invokes one of Rico’s principal themes: the many layers of a human being. Through the mimicry of a humanoid form, the piece invokes affinity and empathy within the viewer and examines the manufactured nature of contemporary human life.
On the screen at the center of the piece, Rico projects both images of his previous work and generic images sourced from the internet. The image projected on the screen lends the piece its title, and encourages the viewer to consider the decomposition of organisms as a result of industrialization.