Abu Ghraib Installation
at Mad Gallery, St. Louis, 2007
The show took place in a repurposed police station, now Mad Art Gallery in St. Louis, MO. The installation filled the space of what had been one jail cell. The pieces were made from deconstructed cotton T-shirts and attached to the metal walls and ceiling with magnets and velcro. As viewers entered the cell, a camera connected to a motion sensor took photos which were immediately viewable on a computer. The photographs simulate those taken of torture committed in American run prisons during the Iraq War. The story broke when photos were sent around the world by text message and email. Similar American prisons were in Cuba (Guantanamo Prison, called “Gitmo”), in Afghanistan (Bagrham Prison), and in unnamed places in unknown countries often called “Dark Spaces” where no laws applied.
Pieces in installation:
Wounded, 2005
1 cotton T-shirt, wire, filament
2’-10 x 3’ x 4”, suspended from ceiling
Gitmo, 2005
1 cotton T-shirt, wire
5’ x 2’-4”
Dark Space, 2006
1 cotton T-shirt, wire, variable
Abu Ghraib, 2005
1 cotton T-shirt, wire
6’-1”x 3’-7”
Skinned, 2006
1 cotton T-shirt, wire, filament
7’h x 10”w x 10”d, suspended from ceiling
Scream, 2005
1 cotton T-shirt, wire, filament
6’-4 x 2’-6” x 4”, suspended from ceiling
Bagrham, 2006
1 cotton T-shirt, wire, variable
Computer, camera set on motion detection device
These pieces have all the characteristics of textiles whose weight, drape, softness and age are inherent to the material.