Against
the backdrop of an animated skull-spangled American flag,
and with animated projections underfoot, a performer,
covered with images of tortured U.S. war detainees, endures
while onlookers strip away the images with forceps.
Set
up on the streets of Brooklyn at the intersection of
Pearl and Front Streets, the animated flag, undulating
across a galvanized steel fence, surrounded by razor
wire, blinks between displaying stars and skull-&-crossbones.
The sidewalk is also alive with projected animations
showing forceps wandering in a field of torture images,
picking them up and clearing them away, only for the
images to return and fill the area, starting the process
all over again. The artist, splayed in frisk position
against the fence, saturated in images from the projections
and covered head to toe with the same torture photos, remains
fixed while examined by onlookers and while viewers, now
participants, tear the images from his flesh, using
provided forceps. Performance duration: 2 hours. Alongside
endurance issues of standing in a fixed position and having
stickers pulled off the skin, the artist also endures
cold and light rain. |
