In 2008, during the national conventions held by the Republican and Democratic parties in America, a crowd of queer activists gathered to read aloud from a fictional love letter. This video installation recreates these protest performances. The balloons were placed here on the opening night, and their gradual deflation over the course of the exhibition marks the passing of time. The letter at the core of this work echoes famous and lesser-known speeches from many different moments in history.
Much of the See you at the barricades exhibition is about the emotions that drive protest, whether anger and humour or anxiety and melancholy. With its fraught yet articulate love letter and festive air, Revolutionary love: I am your worst fear, I am your best fantasy encompasses all these feelings. It’s a street party at the barricades.