Going Down (2008)
The title of this site-based installation means the act of giving oral sex. It is a non-gender specific term that can apply to males and females. As the documentation illustrates, when someone goes to drink from the fountain (and touches the handle) it activates sounds of an intimate pleasure. The sounds are taken from pornographic videos, and features both men and women expressing satisfaction. While the piece is experienced both aurally and orally, it also reflects on two very mundane experiences. The artwork itself is not accidental, but the experience of it provokes embarrassment, and one wonders if it is a mistake. Some of the more sinister aspects of this work remind the viewer of incidents of unsafe water, the potential of meeting up or cruising in public washrooms, and the more dangerous aspects of exchanging sexual fluids. This work touches on the subconscious and ideas from surrealism, while simultaneously uses “tongue in cheek” humor similar to the works of Marcel Duchamp. In fact, this work is similar to Given: 1 The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas (Etant donnés: 1° la chute d'eau / 2° le gaz d'éclairage) because it puts the viewer in a compromising position that they were not expecting.
Previous Exhibitions:
Please note this work is nonextant
Previous Exhibitions:
- “Tour de Force” OCAD’S 92nd Annual Graduate Exhibition. Toronto, Ontario. May 11th to May 13th 2007.
Please note this work is nonextant
