Big Guy
As a regular user of social media, I witness on a daily basis images and videos of violent interactions between police and civilians. These images are not shocking anymore, they are part of what I understand as a repressive system against people, minorities and communities. These violences are usually operating in a situation where people are trying to reclaim agency over decision-making and the inactions of police as attempts to hinder this agency from protesters. Sharing and posting these images help recognise and acknowledge the problem, they also spark a lot of debates regarding the nature of the police institution.
In modern conception of police, the institution is the physical representation of the monopoly of violence by the State, which society agreed to give up according to the social contract.
In modern conception of police, the institution is the physical representation of the monopoly of violence by the State, which society agreed to give up according to the social contract.
In this installation, I question our relationship with the police and the systemic violences embodied within its practices. But also what systemic violence provokes. Walking over this huge figure is symbolic but also try to rethink the concept of coerciveness in a playful way. Walking over an art installation is always awkward, you never know if you can. The power imbalance and injustices I see on social media also makes me question whether there was any point in producing more images of this violence when they were abundantly available on social networks. Through this immense figure, I question our relationship to coercion, but also to our obedience and try to understand how to make use of the already existing images and the importance of their context.
