Dementia Americana

Dementia Americana is a projection mapping installation consisting of a foam core sculpture with video from a single-channel projector mapped to the contours of the sculpture. Dementia Americana explores the dichotomy of being American. Like receiving a warm hug from a friendly psychopath, the installation oscillates between terror and humor, poking fun at conspiracy mongers and TV personalities while reminding the viewer that a trip to the movies or church can turn into a deadly event in a country with more guns than people. The sculpture itself resembles a pile of American debris; Mcdonald’s packaging, discarded cell phones, and a rifle are all haphazardly stacked together with a TV sitting atop of the pile. The video content of the sculpture is divided into two portions, the first is a bombardment of found, shot, and altered footage that show some of the uniquely terrible things about the United States. Fox News propaganda, gun fetishization, and settings of mass shootings all flash across the screen while the pile of trash strobes and pulses in time to an incessant, repetitive beat. The pace of the second half of the video slows significantly, piano music calmly plays as found and shot footage from civil rights movements, past and present, plays on the TV. Protest signs march across the pile below, highlighting slogans from various protest movements such as the United Farm Worker’s, Black Lives Matters, Act Up, and Occupy Wall Street. Although condemning, Dementia Americana strives to remind viewers we are engaged in generational struggles. Although seemingly bleak times, when viewed through the lens of history we can see the slow march of progress continuing despite setbacks.