The Persistence of Memory is one of Dali's most famous and memorable works. He makes a disturbing statement with his use of dreamlike objects dispersed throughout a scene of reality. First off, his statement made with his recurring melting watches, is to say that time must lose all meaning. Another recurring theme in Dali's works are the ants. They represent decay, and when they are attacking a golden watch they become organic. The melting face draped across the center of the piece is a profile of Dali's face. Another real image in this piece are the distant cliffs and coastline which is the coast of Catalonia, Dali's home. One year before this was painted Dali created his Paranoiac-Critical Method, which was formulated by self-induced psychotic hallucinations. According to Dali, "The difference between a madman and me is that I am not mad."