(GUARD)IAN

(GUARD)IAN Troop, 2004, performance art.

• 
  (GUARD)IAN, Troop, 2004, performance art.
• 
  (GUARD)IAN, Chief Guard (detail), 2004, performance art.
• 
  (GUARD)IAN, Guard On the Make, 2004, performance art.
• 
  (GUARD)IAN, Model Guard, 2004, performance art.
• 
  (GUARD)IAN, Guard Reporting, 2004, performance art.
• 
  (GUARD)IAN, Identity Check, 2004, performance art.
• 
  (GUARD)IAN, End of Shift, 2004, performance art.

Thursday, 30 September, 2004. 10pm – midnight

TAAFI (Toronto Alternative Art Fair International), the Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W., Toronto

Opening Gala, $20

(GUARD)IAN is a performance exploring the issue of "surveillance as protection" in our everyday lives. Security guards at the TAAFI Opening Gala conduct surveillance through various personas (the sleeping guard, the proud guard, the arresting guard etc.) Their presence, with regulation uniforms and soft sculpture weapons, asks, "how much security makes us safe?” The question is complicated as most alleged terrorists and low-level security positions share a similar racial profile. Are the guards in fact terrorists or guardians of the public? How do we distinguish between identity issues and notions of safeness?