Destroy The Image
2022
Mylar sheets, blowdarts, floor vinyl
Dimensions variable
Presented at das weisse haus for Vienna Art Week; as part of “and so on...” curated by Kathy Cho
Destroy The Image invites viewers to physically insert themselves into and interact with the artist's personal struggle with the paradoxical paradigms of grief - vulnerability/protection, poison/cure, distortion/clarity, and refusal/acceptance. This multimedia installation includes customized virtual reality headsets, DIY take-home templates, a reflective mirror installation, video, and performance (see The Breath of Death). Each component reflects Garcia’s ongoing process of mourning matriarchal loss. Following a six-year trajectory of adopting Indigenous headhunting practices from the Philippine Islands, this work is also influenced martial arts and its representation in pop culture. Garcia references a quote from the cult classic martial arts film, Enter The Dragon, present in the vinyl flooring, as a metaphor to describe the complexities of her grief:
“The enemy has only images and illusions behind which he hides his true motives. Destroy the image and you will break the enemy.”
- Shaolin Abbott (Enter The Dragon, 1973)
Reality Check, 2022, series of 4 cardboard virtual reality headsets, metal tacks, QR code, android phone, YouTube app, Choose Your Fighter virtual-reality video, 3.75 x 7 x 4.25 inches
Template for Toxicity, 2022, colored inkjet prints on paper, 16.5 x 23.4 inches (download)
Exhibition History: das weisse haus (2022)
Image Credits: Photography by Klara Schneiber & Joanna Pianka, courtesy of das weisse haus