museumuesum

Maurizio Cattelan

Mother, 1999 

digital c-print, 62 x 50 1/2 inches

For the Venice Biennale in 1999 Cattelan produced a performance of a rare dramatic power. Numerous times during the three opening days, a fakir allowed himself to be completely buried beneath some sand. Only his hands remained visible, poking out, immobile and clasped. The fakir was merely replicating something that is a common practice for his native land, within a setting utterly different from its original context.