Let Me Wash Your Hands
1994, Sauce Place, New York, USA
An edited, asynchronised projection that documents a performance that took place in the Sauce Place Gallery in Williamsburg, New York. The liquid used for the sterilizing the hands of the audience was Povidone-iodine, (PVP-I), also known as iodopovidone, is an antiseptic and one of the most important medications needed in a basic health system. American Betadine is heavy, deeply red liquid.
I want to touch you.
I want to feel your warmth.
I want to know you feel it.
There isn’t so much time.
There are a limited number of days to go and we will be no more.
You have a body, no matter how wasted it is.
The head. The torso, the legs and hands.
You are a man, a woman.
There are some impulses, that awaken memory.
Sometimes just sensual afterimages from the past.
This is part of your being.
You are now.
Your body knows more than you realize.
I want to touch you.
(...)
I am going to wash your hands in iodine. I am thinking about how absurd it is: to wash the hands of another person in iodine. Well, it cleans and purifies, prevents infection, decay and the growth of microorganisms. Iodine is a sterile, disinfecting substance. Yes, this is all true but it will never make your hands or my mind clean.
many thanks to Julie Dermansky, Michael Dermansky and Paweł Sztwiertnia for help