Terror?, Intersection for the Arts

Terror? at Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, USA (September 11 - November 11, 2006)

Terror? includes hundreds of original works from all over the world - creating a cacophony of personal and collective response to some of the most immediate questions and issues of our times. What is terror? Who perpetrates it? How does fear control us, and the world around us? Who are we taught to be afraid of, why? What does fear cost? Where does personal fear intersect with larger societal and political messages of terror? In addition to an exhibition in our gallery, Terror? includes a film screening, readings, public discussions and performance.

For my contribution to Terror? I exhibited Suspicious Package no. 3, a sealed envelope posted to the gallery without a return address. I e-mailed Intersection for the Arts ahead of the exhibition to warn them to expect an unknown package and that this wasn't to be opened, but rather shown as a piece in its own right. This work was informed by the outbreak of packages containing anthrax which were posted shortly after September 11th, 2001, and the hysteria which was caused by this. This seems like the natural consequence of the terrorist act; the cloud of suspicion which such a gesture subsequently casts on the everyday and the mundane.