Vandalism

Madeira, october 2014

A door & some keys. It is not a sophisticated digital device, on which some highly-resistant code should be typed to open it, but the recycling of keyboards that used to compose a map, that of the subtropical island on which stands this door. Some art brut that could not withstand the brutal force expressed on the stuck keys. The island is no more complete, it could not resist the invasion of travelers going through the busy street. Like other installations, spectators stopped by a displeasing object have altered, transformed, literally deconstructed it.

Yet it is still there, as a carefully protected picture shows: “It was my door before being vandalized by anti-art people”. While some artists demand a costly restoration of their works after they have suffered many indignities, the creator of the typing island shows us the passage of time in its very structure. Sculptures crumble, while writings and images remain.