Recalling those killed on all sides by the invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan
Unfinished Portrait: A Traveling Exhibit/Performance
Unfinished Portrait attempts to bring us face-to-face with the consequences of the US led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, for all — the soldiers fighting these wars, the soldiers returning home, the civilian populations of these war-torn countries, the predicament of accused Wikileaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning, and Truth.
This work-in-progress has evolved over a period of time, and this new and final approach is a development of my time spent during a December-January 2012 Wassaic residency. The work has four elements:
Passport-size faces of fallen American soldiers painted on 12 x 12 inch panels.
Camouflage squares that increase in number toward the bottom half of the work, representing the new face of modern war: suicides among combatants and veterans.
An equal-sized set of painted panels, representing the Iraqi and Afghani civilians who have died as a result of these wars.
A performance by four members of the community standing in front of the installed work and reading accounts of the tragedy that has enveloped both the people of these war-torn countries and the invaders.
Please come back in May to see images from the show at the 555 gallery in Detroit.
October 2012
This outdoor work was time-based, with each presentation starting in daylight and ending in darkness. Installed on the ground on a bed of sand, the painted portraits faced the western sky. As the sun set, the portraits faded from view. But then the blackness rising in the eastern sky represented the hundreds of thousands of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan who have died since the invasions of their countries. In the hour leading up to total darkness, four members of the community walked up to the front of the panels, and began the performance.
The tour at this point includes:
Kansas City, MO, October 2012
Salina, KS, October 2012
Wassaic, NY, December 2012—January 2013
Detroit, MI, May 2013
Wassaic, NY June—August 2013
