Inmates (1995)
Performative installation work occurring over a period of not under 9 hours where a performer continuously reads the arrest records local to the area of the performance. The room is dimly lit and monitored by a surveillance camera pointed at the performer who is enclosed in a barbed wire sculpture in a corner of the room. This image is monitored in a room or hallway outside the performance area were an audio loop with the names from the arrest logs is broadcast. The names of the criminals are to be separated from their crimes which are being read inside the space. A computer playing a hypercard stack with animated text illuminates the otherwise very dark performance room. As visitors enter the space, a door alarm is set off. Each hour a candle is lit and the cumulative duration of the piece is announced. After each day's arrest log is read, it is announced: day 2, week 3, record 12 of 250, and hung in a prominent place for guests to view. Two seats are placed in the center of the performance room. After entering the space, the door closes and is automatically locked. Guests remain trapped inside the room until another visitor arrives.
c 1995 Donna Marie McCabe