Boney Dust

BIFPA, Ulster University 2024

Duration 18min

This performance art piece explores the intersections of power, masculinity, and the violence embedded within societal constructs. By juxtaposing combat pants with a business suit, I aim to highlight the convergence of war and corporate power, illustrating how violence and diplomacy often blur into one another.

The act of brushing my teeth, typically a symbol of cleanliness, becomes grotesque as toy soldiers—representing militarism—emerge from my mouth. This imagery reflects the internalization of conflict and the way violence is embedded in our daily lives. The meat phallus, a crude symbol of masculinity, combined with the burning cigar, suggests the destructive nature of male aggression.

When I place the flag, a symbol of nationalism, atop the pile of meat, it becomes sullied and trivialized, representing the futility of war and the corruption of patriotic ideals. The final act of blowing down the soldiers with cigar smoke signifies the ease with which life is extinguished in war, leaving only a lingering cloud of destruction as I walk away.