KELLY THOMAS BEAT TO DEATH BY COPS

This installation takes its cue from Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa, reinterpreting voyeurism in a contemporary context. It examines the ways in which art can grapple with political, historical, and social issues today.

The work features a projection of a YouTube video (Screen 1) depicting the beating of Kelly Thomas (a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia), by members of the Fullerton Police Department in Orange County, California. This assault led to Thomas’s death five days later in the hospital.

Positioned opposite Screen 1, a webcam records the observer, while Screen 2 displays a live video feed of the audience watching the first video. These recordings are accessible at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtJN06TcyHQ.

This project was presented as part of the exhibition Das Floß der Medusa at the Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz in Berlin. 2015.

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