Public Workshop on Competition in Television and Digital Advertising, Panel 1: Television Advertising – The Nuts and Bolts of Broadcast and Cable (Thursday, May 2, 2019 2:15 p.m.)
A new film by Eric Minh Swenson.
THE MANDALA PROJECT DESERT: Collateral Damage
A Collective Mediation on Humanity – In response to the staggering numbers worldwide of the lost and unidentified human beings, risking everything for a better life. This particular installation is created in response to the current political atmosphere in today’s world of spiritual intolerance and cultural divisiveness. According to the USA Today Network story “Border Deaths – Uncounted Numbers,” there are hundreds of John and Jane Does – countless men, women and children – who are lying in unmarked graves, and likely hundreds more whose bodies are never recovered, as they attempt to cross the border into the USA. This tragic situation brought about by today’s lack of social responsibility, unity and humanity is brought to light in this solemn presentation addressing the plight of those thousands of immigrants crossing borders around the world, whose bodies and bones are discovered partially turned to dust along the border. The installation, composed of white plaster cast body parts aligned in a large circle is reminiscent of the sun-bleached remains of represent those faceless and unidentified who perished in their struggle to find arefuge for themselves and their families. Serving as a metaphor for these men, women and children that die,forgotten and left behind, the installation commemorates these courageous individuals risking everything, and losing their lives, now forgotten and lost forever, unknown, unclaimed and disintegrating in the desert. “I want to give them an identity, a name, a respect for their struggle and their quest for a better life and honor them for their lives that we will never know.”
About the Artist:
Mixed-media artist Lilli Muller is best known for her unique signature performances, installations and images created through figurative body-casting in plaster/fiberglass. Using the human casts as armature, the installations capture the core presences defined by the absence of their origins, and stimulate conversation about topics affecting the entire global community. Her other studio work includes but is not limited to drawing, painting, sculpture in a variety of other mediums, photographic collaboration, video and conceptual installation design. Multi-layering of stories and narrative is essential in her works, and the key to discovery about its’ true meaning. Her casting sessions are mostly done in public settings, exploring her own involvement as a public act of intimacy, acceptance, communion, ritual, and sensuality.
EMS Legacy Films is a continuing series of short films produced by EMS on artists and exhibitions.
His art films can be seen at https://vimeo.com/channels/76542
Instagram : @ericminhswenson Website : emsartscene.com
Eric Minh Swenson also covers the international art scene and his writings and photo essays can be seen at Huffington Post Arts : https://m.huffpost.com/us/author/eric-minh-swenson/