Unreasonable Giving

When I conceived of this piece I was thinking about the cyclical life-and-death processes of the natural world, which humans are a part of, whether we acknowledge it or not. By inviting viewers to collaboratively destroy the sculpture that I have made, I am asking them to acknowledge their complicity in a process that is inherently negative. Their feelings about the process, and their part in it, are their own; likewise, whatever “ethos” that surrounds the collaborative performance is up to the participants. The brief instructions that go along with the piece begin with “don’t be scared.” On one level, this is meant to encourage people to participate in the actual cutting up of the sculpture; on another, I want people to feel safe enough to be honest with themselves about their role in a destructive process, to shed their denial about the way they live in the world. Ultimately, as the wolf nears its undoing, and the performance nears completion, viewers are left with the animal’s skeleton. This is also behind the reassurances contained in the instruction: for the creature, what seems like destruction is also the exposition of a kind of raw and durable power; for the participants, recognizing their part in the destruction hasn’t lead them to despair but to a new beginning, perhaps a less clouded place to begin rethinking their relationships with the world.