Joāo Pedro Vale
b. 1976, Portugal
Do you want to be part of a world of sleeping people?, 2002 features a performance by the artist, dressed as a sheep, jumping continuously across the central reservation barrier on a busy street in Cork city. The use of an image associated with insomnia, with the shoot lasting from dawn to dusk, pursued the artist’s ongoing exploration of the notion of sleep and dreams. The work is also derived from the artist’s investigation of Ireland’s self-projected image as a rural country, particularly through its tourist industry and the postcards associated with it. The idea of a sheep trying to escape, therefore, is also a reference to the people emigrating from that country.
The idea of a constant attempt to escape, particularly in an urban environment, also deals with the blasé urban attitude, the barrier appearing as metaphor of that which urgently needs to be broken down.
(Text: on the border of each other catalogue, 2003)
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