The Cuban Tania Bruguera moves to tears with her work at the Tate Modern

October 6, 2018

The Cuban Tania Bruguera incites tears to be shed for the victims of the immigration crisis in a work with several surprising elements that was inaugurated this Monday at the Tate Modern in London.

The work of the artist, located in Havana and New York, aims to make people think about the migration crisis through several "furtive interventions" that the visitor encounters while walking through the Turbine Hall of the contemporary art museum.

As a title, the work bears the number resulting from adding the immigrants who traveled from one country to another last year plus those who have died so far, a changing figure that will not be displayed on signs but will be stamped daily on the wrists of those attending the exhibition, and which today was 000010142926.

Other "actions" aimed at provoking reflection include a room in which the visitor is brought to tears upon contact with an organic compound that irritates the eyes, with which the artist wants to force "an emotional response."

Bruguera has also arranged the portrait of a Syrian immigrant on the floor of the Turbine Hall, which only activates through the heat generated if several people touch it at the same time.

The artist has involved the community of activists from the London neighborhood where the Tate is located in this work, and their names will appear for several months in one of the rooms of the London center.

The work presented today also features sound effects, created in collaboration with artist Steve Goodman or Kode9, which cause the visitor a feeling of unease or that something is about to happen.