Video footage of the air raid over Baghdad, Iraq is projected on a tent-like structures just above the heads of gallery visitors. It looks like an eery fireworks display. 

At the same time a short, aggressively grating audio loop plays a sample of "I Feel Good" by James Brown.  This song was played by the U.S. troops at the end of the first war against Iraq after the U.S. claimed victory. It was a kind of "theme song" for the troops. 

The sound sample is a mix of James Brown singing  "I feel good" and yelling out to the audience "Detroit" over the excited or horrified screams. Detroit, of course is the capital of the American automitive industry.  An oblique reference to the country's dependence on oil.

The piece pulls together the ambiguities of marveling at the spectacle of technology and enjoying American funk against the backdrop of the implicit cost of American lifestyle choices. 

Medium:  video footage, canvas tents, sound sample, CD player with speakers, video projector

Date:  2002