White in the White Room, art installation, performance and coveralls created in November, 2021
In this performance White does everything but actually paint. And if White does paint it is with invisible strokes.
White is a reckless painter who doesn't actually paint identity for which I developed a branded suit, a reprisal of my Ingredients of a Subway Car identity.
White Performance included inviting people to paint and developing rituals around participants “entering” the White Room, helping participants put on shoe covers, clothes ponchos and gloves, handing them brushes and paint, helping participants “exiting” the room, taking off shoe covers, ponchos and gloves. In addition, White had duties like cleaning brushes, replenishing paint and maintaining White Room functionality, as well as photography and videography, time-lapse and action photography.
It all goes back to the rituals of clean rooms I have seen in media and movies, but also keeping the installation contained as not to create thousands of dollars worth of cleanup. White also wore special painting extensions, with brushes attached to hair braids, with which some people painted.
This performance is about my personal frustrations with my tendency to procrastinate and not actually paint. It is also about dealing with being invisible to the art world, and participating in society with my high functioning Asperger’s syndrome. It is my rebellion against the corporate state art world where all art is produced, handled and written like a corporate press release from apocalyptic, Brazil like world. In this corporate state art world everyone produces institution sanctioned art conformed to the established narrative. As if someone somewhere turns a knob and all the world produces cloud of the same art.