It might seem pessimistic to view humans in their natural state as violent, self-servingIt might seem pessimistic to view humans in their natural state as violent, self-servingcreatures, just waiting for the right moment to execute their nastiest desires. It’s a belief the17th-century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes popularized, and also one 21st-centuryWashington-based artist Abigail Goldman begrudgingly believes. Since the early 2010s,Goldman has created “dioramas,” where tiny gruesome scenes of murders, cannibalism, andother gory violence play out in otherwise unsuspecting neighborhoods. Goldman’s macabrescenes are not intended to shock but to present complex and seemingly absurd narratives ofhuman compulsions that bubble below the surface.