Pull Up To The Bumper

2003. During the week of the Toronto International Film Festival, an actress ( Phoenix Hunter ) was hired to ride around the city centre in the back of a white stretch, chauffeur driven limousine. She was briefed to stop and offer men a lift using the following phrase: " Do you want a ride? ". If they got into the car, she asked at some point in the conversation " How far do you want to go? ". The limousine was scented with a synthetic recreation of semen. A hidden radio microphone recorded her conversations with the 7 out of 8 men who accepted the offer of a lift. The resulting video was a combination of the view of the city from the limousine, overlayed with the recorded conversations. This was screened on the small television inside the limousine for the opening of the exhibition at Karen Schreiber Gallery, where the audience was welcome to have a 10 minute ride and a glass of champagne.

Exhibited/screened at: Karen Schreiber Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2003; Alice Day Gallery, Brussels, Belgium, 2005; Catalyst Arts, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2005.

Thanks to: Fado ( Commissioned the work as part of 5 Holes Performance Festival ), Paul Coulliard and Jim Drobnick ( co - curators ), Pessi Parviainen ( bodyguard and collaborator with camera work ) and Phoenix Hunter ( fantastic and brave actress )

Images: Miklos Legardy