Looking for Oxygen
Mori Contemporary Art Museum, Contemporary Arab Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2012
Why bodies without heads? As the head is considered the site of consciousness, it is thought that bodies with heads would pose ethical and psychological problems.
If one cannot remove the head, however, hooding it is almost as good as a way of eliminating the “ethical and psychological problems” presented by the sight of a human face. The so-called “interrogation hoods” made famous by the images propagated at Abu Ghraib prison have served this double purpose:
The hoods have the effect of stifling the cries of pain, and render the victim faceless and anonymous. It is an interactive video work that focuses on the human body’s actions in a life and death experience. During the filming of the video artwork, I experienced this dilemma by chance when I covered my head with the bag in the pool. As the oxygen became depleted I grew dizzy and I started gasping frantically for air. In a broader context, the body represents our fragile life.
Video installation, DVD, stereo, 3-in-loop, 1:10 min, loop