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Gregory Echevarria
CONSTRICTION SUIT NO. 05

first performed on March 31, 2017
New World Gallery, Miami, FL
performed once in 2017

DAVID CORREA

Alberto Checa

Miami, FL / Baltimore, MD
davidc2399@gmail.com

CONSTRICTION SUIT NO. 05
DAVID CORREA
  1. Performer A is strapped into the “Constriction Suit,” an outfit composed of a pair of pants as well as a jacket which locks the arms above the head. This jacket is also designed to pour paint through a system of pipes that lead into a watering-can-like device which then drops the paint on the surface of whatever Performer A is standing on.

  2. Prior to entering the “Constriction Suit” the paint travels through a hose which is connected to a bucket atop a 6-foot scaffold. On top of the scaffold sit five buckets, all containing paint. Performer B is able to close the valves on the buckets, disconnect and reconnect the hose to another and bucket, and then open its valve.

  3. Performer B is wearing a black robe which includes a mask. At will, performer B may switch the hose, controlling the flow of the paint and therefore the outcome of the painting.

  4. The performance ends when all paint has been emptied from the buckets and therefore, Performer A has become completely dependent on Performer B in order to complete the painting.

Living in poverty in Miami, I have learned and experienced to what extent the working class’s dependency on the owning class will reach; to what extent the working class will undergo mistreatment in order to establish a sense of home for themselves and their family. The “Constriction Suit Series” was a series of outfits that each restricted the body’s movement in different ways while also creating paintings. The primary performer is strapped into the suit and and becomes dependent on the secondary performer who provides the paint for the process of creating. The performances, inspired by my experiences with homelessness, became about the process of painting and the exploration of dependency and restriction of movement.