Teaching Acupuncture to the Mexican Military
2008
Social project / Acrylic paint, stickers and bullet holes on paper
200 x 152 cm
In Teaching Acupuncture to the Mexican Military, I created a life-size human target with all of the acupuncture points clearly marked and presented it to the Mexican Military for use in their shooting range. Instead of aiming at habitual anatomical objectives, soldiers attempted to more precisely hit specific points along the meridians taught in traditional Chinese medicine. However slight, the unwitting absorption of alternative medicine by gunmen demonstrated a contextual transformation from the practice of violence to the practice of health, providing both a counterpoint and a connection between the use and threat of violence in caring for society.
