#317 Call To Arms

I did this work by slamming my fists in the wet filler 99 times in a rhythm reminiscent of a heartbeat.

To accompany it, I have written a poem.

Listen to the beat
They are few
We are many
The fruit of labour
belongs to all
We don't have to
cut the tree
We just have to
shake it
The fruit will fall
into our hands
into our arms
This is a call
to arms

For me, the work is about the power of the people and about something I call radical equality. It means that one takes the notion of equal value for every human being literally. To achieve this, a new economic system is required that ensures everyone's equal compensation for their working hours. Labour seize to be a commodity and is lifted out of the market logic and given a fixed, universal price. There will not be possible to hoard wealth in such a system, but the surplus value that labour produces is distributed equally. I see it as an artistic task and privilege to think utopian and have formulated more about these thoughts at www.commensalism.org.

Res Ipsa is a compilation of works made by an act shaping the filler once it is prepared inside the frame. The works thus function as a recording device and give a statement of the event taking place while the filler was still wet.

Res Ipsa is Latin for "the thing itself" and is part of the juridical term "Res ipsa loquitur" (the thing speaks for itself), used when an injury or accident in itself clearly shows who is responsible, such as an instrument left inside a body after surgery.

This work is sold by commission from Buer Gallery. For inquiries contact the gallery.