By Luiz Coelho
Over 1.5 million people have signed a petition calling for Costa Rican artist Guillermo “Habacuc” Vargas not to be included in this year’s Bienal Centroamericana Honduras, the Guardian reports. The reason?
Apparently, at an exhibition, he leashed a stray dog named Natividad in the gallery without food or water as part of his work. The words “Eres Lo Que Lees” (You Are What You Read) were written in dog biscuits for the piece, while the Sandinista anthem was played backwards and 175 pieces of cocaine were set alight in a giant incense burner.
This installation happened at the Codice Gallery in Nicaragua last year. Eventually, the news reached the Internet and photos of the event were released to the wider public. Animal lovers were outraged and claims were made that the animal died from starvation. Artinfo reported that Juanita Bermudez, director of the gallery, insisted that Natividad was untied at all times except for the three hours the exhibition lasted, was regularly fed by the artist, and escaped after a day. Vargas said that the piece meant to test the public and that none of the exhibition’s visitors intervened to help the animal.
The story suddenly became an Internet sensation and attracted the attention of several people around the globe who claimed the dog starved to death. Vargas, on the contrary, says that it was meant to test the public, for whom the poor dog is the focus of attention while it is at a gallery, but not when it is starving on the streets. He alleges that it was properly fed and then released.
Whether it happened or not, it raises several questions in my mind, and a deep sense of guilt. It shocked me to read the whole story, and I can say I am still deeply outraged with the installation, even if the dog did not die. However, I must say, it makes me feel equally guilty, for not being outraged with several crimes that happen every single day; not only to dogs, but to mankind too.
