Hidden in Plain Site: Creative Referendums to Human Trafficking
Artist Installations, temporarily sited in cargo containers, Angels Gate Park
April 26 – June 6, 2015Artistic solutions, also known as creative referendums, developed by nine members of an Artist Team are framed within two cargo containers temporarily sited in Angels Gate Park overlooking the Port – an alluring metaphor given that some people smuggled into the US arrive in shipping containers.
Melissa Crandall
Tag You’re It
Installation of price tags tied to fishnet on outside of cargo containers
Proposed Referendum:
Take charge of your own body. When you suspect trafficking, take action.
Hidden and revealed were prevalent themes explored by the artist team, and represent the experience of trafficked people who are moved around against their will. Crandall’s movement tableaus with fabric, music and props in both well-lit and shadowy tunnel entrances are utilized in this dance performance, skirting the cargo containers. Ownership and dominance are represented visually, equating enslavement to a process of disempowerment. The dancer then invites interaction, and encourages the public to remove garment hang-tags attached to her costume. Each removed tag represents the salvation of a trafficked person, hopefully giving the public an experience of satisfaction in metaphorically helping an individual gain their freedom.