With flushed cheeks and gleaming backs, the balloon-men are beings inflated with serotonin—so spherical they seem on the verge of bursting—who have lost all connection to their muses: they no longer listen, they simply float and drift through the air.

Dressed in short pants, high socks, and small red purses, they carry inside those purses the most treasured relics of their families.

They trade them for time-snails, hoping to extend their existence, even if just for a few more moments. In the world of strambotisme, these characters represent primal excess: the abundance of everything—everything useless—the swelling of ego, the disconnection from meaning.

They are grotesque, yet endearing figures… and at the same time, a reflection of a world where seny (reason) has drowned in rauxa (wild impulse).