Trabajo Duro from Richard Medina on Vimeo.
"Trabajo Duro" is a multimedia installation and performance that brings up issues of factory conditions and the concept of perpetual Trabajo Duro (hard work). The project deals with themes of cleanliness, industriality, and labor.
The installation consists of a large plastic container full of water, a bucket with Ivory soap, a chair stacked with packing peanuts, and a tire with a toaster on top of it and a radio inside it. The performance begins with me turning on the radio to a Spanish music channel, and setting the toaster for two minutes. For me, the toaster and the radio present a dichotomous binary system of sorts. The toaster repeats itself, heating up for five minutes and then cooling for a few seconds before the cycle begins again. However the toaster, for all its hard work, cooks nothing: there is no food in the appliance, therefore no narrative of its labor. The radio on the other hand is a driving force of narrative and progress. There is a historical account in the constant stream of sound, and while only the present exists for the radio, the listener recollects the past information. I use the toaster as a timer, while the radio works as entertainment for myself and the audience. The performance involves me washing my hands over the container of water with a bar of soap. While most of the labor is spent on cleaning myself, there are times when I look up, around the space in boredom. There are also little moments of play, when I make bubbles out of the soap and pop them.
The installation consists of a large plastic container full of water, a bucket with Ivory soap, a chair stacked with packing peanuts, and a tire with a toaster on top of it and a radio inside it. The performance begins with me turning on the radio to a Spanish music channel, and setting the toaster for two minutes. For me, the toaster and the radio present a dichotomous binary system of sorts. The toaster repeats itself, heating up for five minutes and then cooling for a few seconds before the cycle begins again. However the toaster, for all its hard work, cooks nothing: there is no food in the appliance, therefore no narrative of its labor. The radio on the other hand is a driving force of narrative and progress. There is a historical account in the constant stream of sound, and while only the present exists for the radio, the listener recollects the past information. I use the toaster as a timer, while the radio works as entertainment for myself and the audience. The performance involves me washing my hands over the container of water with a bar of soap. While most of the labor is spent on cleaning myself, there are times when I look up, around the space in boredom. There are also little moments of play, when I make bubbles out of the soap and pop them.
O'Tooles, 1865 from Richard Medina on Vimeo.
"O'Tooles, 1865" is a multimedia installation and performance that presents the commodification and abuse of the Irish during the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The project consists of several ritualized performances dealing with disease and cleanliness, the preparation of the potato, and the depletion of resources.
I am mostly Irish, with Irish ancestors on both sides of my family. My mother's side, the O'Tooles, immigrated to the US following the Irish Potato Famine in 1865, on the same day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Whether it currently affects my personal upbringing or not, Ireland and Irish culture have significantly influenced my life.
The installation consists of a chair in the center of the room, a bucket of warm water in front of it, a sack of potatoes and a stack of soap to the right, a cutting board with a knife and vegetable peeler to the left, and a box of plastic wrap also to the left. The performance involves me interacting with each component in a sequence reminiscent of factory work. The sequence is as follows: I sit in the chair and open a box of soap. I use the peeler to skin the soap into the bucket of water. When the soap is peeled down sufficiently, I take out a potato. I wash the potato with the soap, and then chop it into pieces. I wrap each potato segment in plastic wrap and then present it forward in a pile. The audience is encouraged to either take a chunk, thereby contributing to the commodification of Irish tradition, or to abstain from interaction with the performance.
Additionally, there are several smaller sculptures acting as semi-documents of the main installation. They deal with farming and cleanliness, the anti-Irish sentiment, and the Industrial Revolution.
I am mostly Irish, with Irish ancestors on both sides of my family. My mother's side, the O'Tooles, immigrated to the US following the Irish Potato Famine in 1865, on the same day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Whether it currently affects my personal upbringing or not, Ireland and Irish culture have significantly influenced my life.
The installation consists of a chair in the center of the room, a bucket of warm water in front of it, a sack of potatoes and a stack of soap to the right, a cutting board with a knife and vegetable peeler to the left, and a box of plastic wrap also to the left. The performance involves me interacting with each component in a sequence reminiscent of factory work. The sequence is as follows: I sit in the chair and open a box of soap. I use the peeler to skin the soap into the bucket of water. When the soap is peeled down sufficiently, I take out a potato. I wash the potato with the soap, and then chop it into pieces. I wrap each potato segment in plastic wrap and then present it forward in a pile. The audience is encouraged to either take a chunk, thereby contributing to the commodification of Irish tradition, or to abstain from interaction with the performance.
Additionally, there are several smaller sculptures acting as semi-documents of the main installation. They deal with farming and cleanliness, the anti-Irish sentiment, and the Industrial Revolution.
Semi-document (Packing peanuts)
Semi-document (Celtic knot)
Semi-document (Figure)
Passages, cloth tubes. Participants are meant to crawl through the tunnel in a synthesis of interactive sculpture and performance.
Tubers. Site-specific installation of bubble wrap at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Bodies. Stack of cardboard boxes.
Our Land. Paper soaked in water.
Fifty Ships. Wood planks.
Sixteen Mouths. Soap and potatoes.
Broken Row. Soil.
Abstractions.
Installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Foam blocks were placed on the floor, and a monitor displayed instructions on how to manipulate them.
