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Festival 2023

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Oct 27 -
Dec 31 2023

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Medicine Man: I’ll Take Care of You

 Image

Pregabalin 150mg, OxyNorm 10mg, Pregabalin 100mg, Sodium Docusate 100mg, Pregabalin 75mg, OxyContin 80mg, Gliclazide 80mg,OxyContin 20mg, Omeprazole 20mg, OxyContin 10mg, Domperidone 10mg, Zopiclone 3.75mg, Amlodopine 5mg, Nasal Cannula (NC)

 

 

In Medicine Man: I’ll Take Care of You, the artist duo Ohiri and Kassinen stage a performance where the artist takes on the persona of a traditional African healer. As a response to the death of the artist’s mother, Ohiri and Kassinen adorn the subject with tribalistic face paint and beads created from the remaining pills his mother left behind. The image speaks to the relationship between Western and traditional medicine as a dual and conflicting force. The performance serves as a coping mechanism in dealing with death, mourning his mother while sharing the intimate ritual with his partner in a process of closure.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

In late 2012 my mother passed away due to cancer. It is a period in my life that I will never forget. The pain of having to watch someone you love slowly lose their battle for life is an experience I hope the reader never endures.

During this time I felt so hopeless, hopeless to the point that I would wish I had healing powers like that of the ancient medicine men that could be used to cure my mother of her illness.

Through my mother\'s battle with cancer the family remained optimistic. Coming from a religious background we put all our faith in God and hoped for a miracle, one that would defy science and come to stand as a true testimony to the power of God. However no amount of anointing oil or prayers could save her life and she passed away leaving behind many possessions including the box of medication that was used to treat her cancer.

Using the remaining medication I decided to create a character with the help of my partner Riikka Kassinen that would allow me to revisit a fantasy I once took comfort in. It is the hand of my partner that carefully applies my tribalistic face-paint, adorns me with sacred charms then records this intimate moment. The same hand that was present at the start of this painful process from diagnosis to my mother\'s eventual death.

This final stage of becoming and documenting the “Medicine Man” has acted as a joint mourning-ritual and act of closure for both of us, exploring the boundaries between collaboration and shared experience.

 

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