Inka Bujalski

"Red Cell"

"RED QUIET"

\\\ POST ACTION STATEMENT \\\

As time progressed, RED became a process work, conditional on the presence of the artist-performer (me), being on site and wrapping dyed yarn around the front cell bars during exhibition hours. The piece was completed on the last day of the Without Alarm II exhibit, with yarn covering 98% of the bars.

My intention was to convey a feeling of privacy and protection by placing a sort of barrier- shield to hinder visibility and interaction between the viewer and me (thus becoming a surrogate prisoner). The time spent working in isolation approached doing penance. Repetitive motions would sometimes elicit a meditative state or at times lead to a reverie, but were just as likely to became frustrating and trying when I snared myself into undoing a knot.

Being looked at and engaging with viewers was simultaneously a diminishing (objectifying) and empowering (I had chosen this task and could directly affect a viewers response via discussion) experience. I often felt poignantly separate.

I changed the name to RED QUIET, because of the subtlety of the color of the yarn and the noiselessness of the weaving work. The red I had initially intended to use would have been a palpable presence; bold, bright, glaringly assaulting in its hue, it would subconsciously plant a psychological unease and tension hard to identify, thus indirectly implicating the passerby.

I also wanted the color to be a source of relief and hope; a spark; a break from the monotony of harmoniously depressing jail hues.

As it came to be, the color took on a softer shade; the "time" spent "behind bars" ceded a sense of solidarity with prisoners once contained here. The covering of yarn conveyed a warmth and comfort, provided privacy an arousing respect for those deserving compassion.