In 2008, artist Mary Coble embarked upon one of the most painful and prolific performance art pieces I have ever encountered. She began this project by compiling a list of the most hateful words, slurs, and phrases used by individuals all over the world to belittle and dehumanize others. She then had 75 of those words/slurs/phrases tattooed on her body without ink, creating bloody etchings on her arms, torso, and legs. As each tattoo was done, she would place a piece of white paper over the scar, letting her blood form a stencil of each word that had been etched into her skin. These bloody pieces of paper were then tacked on a wall, the piece growing larger and larger as her body became more covered in hate and in blood.
To me this speaks of the link between words and violence. Words can be violent and words can sometimes lead to physical violence. I also imagine what it means to take on all the hate one can imagine and carve it into one's body leaving a lasting impression; a raised scar. To me, this is what happens to individuals who are on the receiving end of these words/slurs/phrases. Coble is merely showing us what we cannot see or what we choose to ignore.
Pictures of the performance and a brief statement about the performance can be accessed here:
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