26 X 2009

Naughton Gallery, Belfast

as part of the “Aiming” event

Description of the action:

Two large tables stand in the center of the room. The audience sits on chairs along the walls. On one table are glasses, a bottle of vodka, a tray, a fresh flower, and an axe. On the other table stands a small stump.

The artist, wearing a blue headband, takes the axe and attempts to split the stump in half. His attempts are unsuccessful. Members of the audience try to help him, but they also fail to split the stump. The stump is split only after it is carried outside the room. Once the split stump is brought back, the action continues. The artist alternates between pouring vodka into glasses at one table and painting blue paint on the inside of the split stump: on one half, the word TOAST and a signature; on the other half, the word BELFAST and the date. He takes a tray of glasses and goes around the room, offering vodka to those present. He saves one glass for himself and proposes a toast. He then approaches the table where the split stump lies and carefully reassembles it so that the inscriptions are hidden inside. He ties the stump together with the headband. Next to it, he places a vodka bottle with a flower inside.

Photographs courtesy of Naughton Gallery, Belfast