The Burden of Guilt
Art Form: Installation Art
During the Havana Biennial in 1997, on 4th of May, Tania Bruguera performed this work at her home in Old-Havana. She stood before a Cuban flag, woven from human hair by the artist herself, and with a lamb carcass hung around her neck, as a physical and symbolic burden. For about 45 minutes, she mixed Cuban soil with water and salt (representing tears), in order to eat it - concept based on accounts according to which indigenous people in Cuba vowed to eat dirt and nothing else rather than be the captives of the Spanish conquistadors.
As Edward Rubin described it, "the harrowing piece was first performed in Havana, where the audience was duly reminded that freedom, liberty, and self-determination are not abstract ideals, but achievements that deeply inscribe their meaning on our physical being."
(Patchwork of low-res photos by Gerhard Haupt)
