This makes them wish and afterwards this makes them leave and afterwards this makes them leave and wish and this makes them leave and leaves and wish and afterward, this makes them wish and leave and leaves and afterward.

This project attends to bodies displaced from home, on public land, and openly on view. It is a public performance on a roundabout in rural America, where audience members are primarily drivers in vehicles. Some visitors came and sat on chairs and watched the cars. And as I expected, some drivers stopped and stole the chairs and yellow tow straps, others called the police. The title of this work comes from Gertrude Stein’s opening CHAPTERS from A Novel of Thank You, an existential labor of language published posthumously, written as follows:

How many more than two are there. If they heard it at once and at once was as afterward whom would they have to mention. And leaves. This makes them wish.

A LONGER CHAPTER.

This makes them wish and afterwards this makes them leave and afterwards this makes them leave and wish and this makes them leave and leaves and wish and afterward, this makes them wish and leave and leaves and afterward.

4Ground Midwest Land Art Biennial
Schaefer, Minnesota
2022 Performance

The residency, installation, and performance was supported primarily by a Franconia Residency Fellowship, and additional funding was provided by a Foundation for Contemporary Art Emergency Grant, along with the making of the public installation framing of a space that waits. Thanks Alex Bustamente for the help.

Photo Credit : Image credits ricky chiang & Kaitlin West