Leaving

30x19"
Painted and stitched cotton fabric.

To be homeless is to become invisible and to be robbed of one's humanity.

This piece is based on the story of Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax, a homeless man who was mortally stabbed while saving a woman, a stranger to him, from an assailant. Security camera footage showed that nearly twenty-five people casually strolled past as he lay dying on the sidewalk. As the text says, "No one bothered to call the police." However, one person did take out a cell phone in order to photograph him.

Assistance in rendering the background EKG waveforms was provided by Andee Wasson, Charlotte Dehgan, Cynthia Wenslow, Katherine McNeese, Tobi Hoffman, and others. Any errors are the sole responsibility of the artist.

Closeup:
Detail of EKG, blood

 

Leaving