| In my artwork, I create a narrative from collective memory that suggests different versions of reality. Using as a foundation the prevailing cross-cultural and hybrid identity so common to those who live in urban America, I try to create a certain aesthetic that unites opposites in a socio-political context that relates to the New World and the birth of the American Empire. Diary of a Refugee on Seven Levels of Sophistication is an installation, performance, and interactive video that comments on debates on the controversial immigration policy in the United States today. The floating barrel refers to the role played by barrels in the expeditions of the late 15th century that resulted in the discovery of the Americas by the Europeans, events that totally changed the way in which people perceived the world. |  |
Vidho Lorville
In my artwork, I create a narrative from collective memory that suggests different versions of reality. Using as a foundation the prevailing cross-cultural and hybrid identity so common to those who live in urban America, I try to create a certain aesthetic that unites opposites in a socio-political context that relates to the New World and the birth of the American Empire.
Diary of a Refugee on Seven Levels of Sophistication is an installation, performance, and interactive video that comments on debates on the controversial immigration policy in the United States today. The floating barrel refers to the role played by barrels in the expeditions of the late 15th century that resulted in the discovery of the Americas by the Europeans, events that totally changed the way in which people perceived the world. At a time when navigation equipment like the astrolabe and the compass were not yet invented, early sailors and navigators relied upon a person who would be stationed in a barrel in the crow’s nest on the foremast of a vessel to be used as a navigational aid. This crew member, who was experienced in navigation, was known as a barrel man.
My barrel installation makes reference to the barrel’s multiple uses in other situations. At one time in Europe, debtors and other wrongdoers were humiliated in public by being dragged naked through the streets in a barrel. The famous rodeo clowns in Bull Ride Arena, Texas, were also known as barrel men. In the mid-19th century, bandits, criminals, and free people of color were occasionally forced to wear a “barrel coat” for hours or days, which was in fact just a barrel with openings at the top and bottom. And during the Depression, the picture of a naked man wearing only a barrel with suspenders came to symbolize being poor or bankrupt.
In my work, the barrel takes on symbolic significance in the history of immigration at different periods of time, representing immigrants’ everyday experiences, struggles, triumphs, and reflections on their special situation in life. The screen embedded in the barrel tells my own story of being an immigrant in the United States.
I perform seven informal gestures that become the narrative for the piece. They illustrate the seven chapters or levels of sophistication of what I call my diary. A camera device in the barrel is connected with a larger screen that is placed in the room adjoining the barrel in order to give the work a theatrical dimension. Spectators who pass by the screen become involved as they are caught on camera watching and commenting on the video of my performance. Their interaction adds yet another dimension to the narrative that is embedded in the piece. It is through these various dimensions that I try to replicate many layers of history and how they have affected immigrants to the Americas.
