Still Life casts an anxious shadow over our rapid evolution from 'Homo Sapiens' to 'Homo Oeconomicus' (a rational being who always strives to maximize monetary gains), and re-interprets the canons of 17th Century European still life painting, which emerged in parallel with the rise of capitalism. The tulip is a recurring motif of the golden age of Dutch 'Vanitas'. It also refers to an early example of a speculative bubble when, in 1636-1637 in the Netherlands, the frantic demand for tulip bulbs boosted prices to extremely high levels before suddenly collapsing.