Project description:
Gesundheit was presented as part of the opening reception for the exhibition in::FORMATION at the Betty Rymer Gallery in spring 2000. This work was an exploration of the body as site of pathology, hysteria, and transformation. In this case, we focused on the center of the body, the belly. The performance is presented from within an enclosed installation area. Viewers experience the work through peepholes. Trevor is suspended by a climbing harness from a red wall. Kym physically diagrams his exposed belly medically tapping, prodding, sucking, kissing, and telling it stories. Metaphors of pregnancy and torture emerge but in a reversed gender. The work examines the dynamics of public/private, pleasure/pain. Throughout the course of the exhibition, the harness and select props remain on view. Through the peepholes, viewers also see an ambiguous video image of a belly (in close-up) and a black-and-white belly print.