“So what? What do you want me to do?
My name is Messiah but I don't do miracles.”
—Jair Bolsonaro
The title of Liz Under’s video art piece ‘SO WHAT?’ is taken from the remarkable response given by Brazil’s right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, when asked by a journalist about the 474 deaths from coronavirus in Brazil that day. The number of coronavirus cases in Brazil has soared since then – at the time of writing, the country has the second-highest number of reported cases in the world. Bolsanaro’s weaponised indifference to the health of his country’s population has been instrumental in this tragedy. “There is blood on the hands of this government, blood from the health crisis we are facing, blood from women victims of domestic violence, blood from the black and LGBT+ population, blood from the working class,” Liz writes. “Jair Bolsonaro, his family and his government simply wash their hands and disinfect them with alcohol, careful to hide the evidence.”
My name is Messiah but I don't do miracles.”
—Jair Bolsonaro
The title of Liz Under’s video art piece ‘SO WHAT?’ is taken from the remarkable response given by Brazil’s right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, when asked by a journalist about the 474 deaths from coronavirus in Brazil that day. The number of coronavirus cases in Brazil has soared since then – at the time of writing, the country has the second-highest number of reported cases in the world. Bolsanaro’s weaponised indifference to the health of his country’s population has been instrumental in this tragedy. “There is blood on the hands of this government, blood from the health crisis we are facing, blood from women victims of domestic violence, blood from the black and LGBT+ population, blood from the working class,” Liz writes. “Jair Bolsonaro, his family and his government simply wash their hands and disinfect them with alcohol, careful to hide the evidence.”
Liz Under
‘SO WHAT?’(2020)
Digital performance
‘SO WHAT?’ was filmed on a cellphone in Liz’s bathroom, using only some buckets as an improvised tripod, and left unedited. It uses the routine of stripping, washing and disinfecting the body to channel artist’s anger at the Bolsonaro regime and despair over the inadequacy of its response.