In 1946 an American named Giles Healey was shown murals in several small
rooms by his Lacandon Mayan guide. These rooms were buried in the Chiapas
jungle for over a thousand years. As the protective jungle was cleared away
from the Bonampak ruins, the paintings became vulnerable to the the combination
of the heat and moisture of the rainy season and the aridity of the dry season.
The murals were painted on plaster surfaces, so as these calcified surfaces began
to dry out, they turned white and deteriorated. In the 1950s, the copyists hired
to reproduce the murals thought they could keep the murals moist and to cut
through the calcification by applying kerosene to the walls. This also did not
work. Today thousands of people filter through these three small rooms queuing
on line for 10 second intervals in each room to see what is left of these painted
remains from 790 AD.
There is a flight from Mexico City to Palenque which leaves two days a week. Scheduling. The incoming flights from New York do not connect with the outgoing flight to Palenque creating a gap. A temporal gap which is not long enough to allow for a taxi ride to a hotel in Mexico City, 3 or 4 hours of sleep and then a taxi cab back to the airport to wait in line 3 hours before the scheduled take off to Palenque. The line for all Interjet flights begins to form at 3:30 AM. These flights go to all destinations within Mexico as well as a few international flights. After getting the boarding pass and checking a bag it is necessary to go through security before descending to a different level of the airport to wait for the flight to Palenque. |
There is nothing left to do but wander the airport. All night. There are sleeping modules in the airport called izZzleep. These are popular enough to require a reservation, so it was not possible to rent one that night after arriving from NY. The video installation project will have to be postponed. Wait for the return flight from Mexico City to JFK. A return flight will have to be selected that leaves enough time to spend a few hours in a sleep module before the flight. These sleeping modules will be a perfect location to create a video projection performance. |
The womanRidingWalmartShoppingCart (2017) was originally video recorded in the Walmart in Brigham City, Utah.
Brigham City lies between the Great Salt Lake to the west and the Wasatch Mountains to the east. The Walmart is in the town shopping mall.
A nearby laundromat is spacious and clean. A father and son are waiting for their clothes to finish cycling. There is a Jiffy Lube near
the laundromat. The oil must be changed. On the outskirts of town fishermen fish in the canals which connect the marsh to the Great Salt Lake.
Several young men are reeling in an enormous catfish out of the brackish water. A yellow headed catbird is sitting on the bare branch of a leafless
tree.
The video was projected
with an XS Xseries DLP pocket projector.
The projector has an internal battery and memory.
It can be turned on with a switch
It can be operated by pressing the arrows
on the surface of the projector.
Checking in to the izZzleep.
Each guest is given a pair of throwaway socks
to keep the bedding blankets clean.
There are lockers outside the module area
for large bags, jackets and shoes.
The izZzleep module is quite comfortable
It is perfectly suited for instantaneous sleeping.
It is a little difficult navigating the dark corridor
to the correctly numbered module.
It is a little difficult opening the module door
with the various bags, video equipment and cell phone.
Hotel Villas Kin Ha suffered from a fire which destroyed almost half of what was intended to be an upscale resort. Mexican tours and tourists stopping in Palenque stay at the hotel for the night or eat the 100 peso breakfast consisting of slices of fresh mango, melon, pineapple, papaya and bananas. Quevos Revueltos. Coffee. Tortillas. Pan dulce. There is a swimming pool. The young children of vacationing parents are screaming while in the pool.