"this is what i call the light of god" premieres in San Francisco
photo by Mido Lee
[NOTE: THIS PIECE HAS SINCE BEEN RE-TITLED BIRTHING A NATION. LEARN MORE ABOUT IT HERE. -AW]
Erika Katrina Barbosa and I premiered a new media/performance work at the stARTup Art Fair earlier this month. We kept having to explain to attendees that, yes, in fact, we are an art piece... and no, we are not actually pregnant!
Above is a photo (by Mido Lee) with stARTup founders Ray Beldner and Steve Zavattero. The wonderful Justin Charles Hoover curated interactive/performance works.
It's title a direct quote from a police officer describing his weapon, "this is what I call the light of god" is a participatory performance ritual for an age of police violence. Found sound of real U.S. officers, NRA members, and gun enthusiasts, activated by touch sensors, are embedded in the wombs of the performers: Our Ladies of Peace, vessels of the patriarchy, police brutality madonnas for the 21st century.
This media art/performance collaboration combines my work with vulnerability and participation, with Erika's interrogation of police violence through the objects officers carry.
More photos, by Mido Lee:
The next night, we were invited to POW!POW!POW!POW! action art festival by founder and co-curator Guillermo Galindo, at the Fort Mason Center:
