Installation view: Mediations, or the End of Cosplay
“like a luminous animal” 2020-2021, Solid Art, Taipei, Taiwan
Photo courtesy of Jackal Yu and Solid Art Taipei
“like a luminous animal” 2020-2021, Solid Art, Taipei, Taiwan
Photo courtesy of Jackal Yu and Solid Art Taipei
It is fall 2018 and I am at my computer, scrolling through images from protests here in the States, showing hordes of individuals dressed in warrior
costumes, spraying mace at one another.
News that in Taiwan, demonstrators, calling for the removal of monuments which glorified the country’s authoritarian past, had to excellent effect, slung
nuggets of red paint onto a prominent statue of former president, Chiang Kai-shek, located in the administrative center of Taipei, had prompted me to
revisit what had happened here the previous summer. When, in opposition to a wave of nationwide protests aimed at the litany and removal of
those Confederate symbols memorializing the country’s present and previous racism, white supremacists had gallivanted into Charlottesville, Virginia.
A year out, and stacks of images and reports relating to that incident were now in steady circulation. One could, from almost every conceivable angle,
reference Friday evening’s parade of tiki torches; the violent clashes which ensued, and had continued the following day; and how law enforcement, having
primarily just stood there, had furnished the escalation of Saturday’s events. Which, among other things, resulted in the uninterrupted beating of
counter-demonstrator Deandre Harris, a young black man, in a parking garage, by six white males affiliated with a range of hate groups; and to the death of
Heather Heyer, a young white woman, among the crowd of protesters into which a neo-Nazi had plowed his Dodge Challenger.
So to revisit those images and observe in some the presence of bodies in ornate costumes, holding richly decorated shields and flags, was, given the
circumstances, surprising. At least in contrast, these contests looked more like pageants, populated by the characters of a cosplay universe. The more
bizarre ensembles rendering their hosts’ political ideologies seemingly illegible. But this combat wasn’t just posturing; nor was it restricted to Charlottesville.
As it turned out, scenes like these were taking place amidst larger protests and demonstrations in cities across the country. Portland, Houston, Berkeley,
Philadelphia, for instance. And while by no means a rule, that the cast members appeared to consist primarily of young white men; this, being one myself,
was hard to take.
Hard to shake, the feeling that these episodes evidenced something of more primary and fundamental address to the larger American mood; something
stranger, of more tragic potential than partisanship, which resisted political and cultural verisimilitudes, and, needed listening to.
So I decided this project would involve creating instances of dialog among some of these costumed protagonists, which would test the veracity of my
own beliefs while documenting theirs, and in so doing, encourage in the audience a conversation about why there is so much agonism and trust rot among
we the people, and one which is less instantly dismissive of viewpoints we may not agree with. Such impetuousness not having, up to this point, led
anywhere good.
costumes, spraying mace at one another.
News that in Taiwan, demonstrators, calling for the removal of monuments which glorified the country’s authoritarian past, had to excellent effect, slung
nuggets of red paint onto a prominent statue of former president, Chiang Kai-shek, located in the administrative center of Taipei, had prompted me to
revisit what had happened here the previous summer. When, in opposition to a wave of nationwide protests aimed at the litany and removal of
those Confederate symbols memorializing the country’s present and previous racism, white supremacists had gallivanted into Charlottesville, Virginia.
A year out, and stacks of images and reports relating to that incident were now in steady circulation. One could, from almost every conceivable angle,
reference Friday evening’s parade of tiki torches; the violent clashes which ensued, and had continued the following day; and how law enforcement, having
primarily just stood there, had furnished the escalation of Saturday’s events. Which, among other things, resulted in the uninterrupted beating of
counter-demonstrator Deandre Harris, a young black man, in a parking garage, by six white males affiliated with a range of hate groups; and to the death of
Heather Heyer, a young white woman, among the crowd of protesters into which a neo-Nazi had plowed his Dodge Challenger.
So to revisit those images and observe in some the presence of bodies in ornate costumes, holding richly decorated shields and flags, was, given the
circumstances, surprising. At least in contrast, these contests looked more like pageants, populated by the characters of a cosplay universe. The more
bizarre ensembles rendering their hosts’ political ideologies seemingly illegible. But this combat wasn’t just posturing; nor was it restricted to Charlottesville.
As it turned out, scenes like these were taking place amidst larger protests and demonstrations in cities across the country. Portland, Houston, Berkeley,
Philadelphia, for instance. And while by no means a rule, that the cast members appeared to consist primarily of young white men; this, being one myself,
was hard to take.
Hard to shake, the feeling that these episodes evidenced something of more primary and fundamental address to the larger American mood; something
stranger, of more tragic potential than partisanship, which resisted political and cultural verisimilitudes, and, needed listening to.
So I decided this project would involve creating instances of dialog among some of these costumed protagonists, which would test the veracity of my
own beliefs while documenting theirs, and in so doing, encourage in the audience a conversation about why there is so much agonism and trust rot among
we the people, and one which is less instantly dismissive of viewpoints we may not agree with. Such impetuousness not having, up to this point, led
anywhere good.