SIMPLE
FORCE ::: the people will rise
Components:
-
Guinea
pig cage, bite marks where they tried to free themselves
-
Fabric
softener ceiling
-
Social
ordinances plane, projected on it [U Blood Thirsty Imperialists]
-
Drawing
/poem on back wall of Muslim woman saying, “Free is that what you see u blood thirsty
Americans think/say you liberate me”
-
The
phallice [plastic penis package] you pull on to free the person from the cage. This person pushes on the fabric softener ceiling,
wearing it as a veil. Many different themes:
o Person of
US wearing the veil in solidarity with the Iraqi people [and the Palestinians and other
Muslims coming under attack]
o This
figure is plastic and transparent suggesting our social plasticity and extravagance and
suggesting a non-material spirituality.
o The
Muslim Iraqi rising out of the cage saying, “NO! You call this blood shed liberation
… and you are trying to place your social constraints on me.”
I
projected the words and a drawing of a woman kneeling down to bow to Allah, while a table
with pointy legs is coming down on her. This
refers to a drawing I made right when the war was becoming inevitable; and when I felt so
angry, injured, and defeated. In the drawing,
there is a figure kneeling in front of a screen, with her back turned to the woman who is
coming under attack.
When the
figure rises, the audience hears the words “Warsh your dishes, against and
rise.” “Warsh your dishes” was
a play on the word “war” and is a manipulation of my Dad speaking. This is a general reference to my personal
struggle with family expectations about gender roles and adhering to corporate social
norms.
At the
time, during these times it is difficult for someone being attacked to fulfill daily
routines and even myself who was so busy trying to stop the war.
When I
envisioned this piece, I saw this anti war movement in a positive light of building a
network of people who would mount change against our oppressive government and corporate
restrictions. That is what the figure
represents, one individual who wishes to implement social change.
- Allison
Rentz 2003
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