Bless You (2025)
Vinyl, recycled polystyrene beads and repurposed copper wire
22 June - 19 July 2025 at The See Here Gallery, Te Whanganui -a-Tara
A "dead cat strategy" is a term for deliberately creating a distraction, to shift focus away from negative news or issues. It is a tactic used in politics and media to divert attention.
When there is nowhere to turn to because neoliberalism is eating away at peace, freedom, equity - basic human rights – look at some beanbag beads on a copper string, surrounded by mesmerizing, reflective vinyl.
Diversion from political context is the offer, cradling the viewer in some soft mental disengagement. Nothing, of course, can beat endless scrolling, our Feed feeding us with one repetitive prayer: More is more - and who even are you if you have not gotten your hands on a Labubu yet?
As I push
my copper-wire-equipped-needle through
one polystyrene bead at the time
one by one
fighting to stay engaged with global politics
that drift further and further away from sense
into realms I once hoped we would never see again
I wonder
Is this Dada
or
am I loosing my mind.
Don’t worry
It is a rhetorical question.