The originally named work: The Instrumentality and Ignition of the boy from Gethsemane (now: The Ignition of Gethsemane) proposes something a lot quieter and more intimate than the other works within the Death in Dade series. While the sound of the engine revving and the fuel burning is still present, it is no longer a roar or a scream or the crying out of machine and man.It is now a slow ominous growl and a soft weep.The “performance” then consists of the already activated engine, humming as it slowly burns through the tank of gas. No other action takes place and the piece ends once the tanks is empty.
The theory concerning the boy unfolds as follows: When Jesus utters "I am that I am," it is suggested that he is pronouncing the sacred name of God. This utterance, occurring in the vicinity of a graveyard adjacent to the Garden of Gethsemane, inadvertently results in the resurrection of the boy clad in a linen cloth.
Such unintentional resurrections are not uncommon in biblical narratives, as evidenced in the case of the prophet Elijah in II Kings. This theory gains further support from the contextual significance of the linen cloth, a material exclusively associated with burial shrouds, often termed "sindon." In light of this interpretation, Jesus' utterance of this divine name is believed to trigger the boy's resurrection, prompting him to pursue the very figure he perceives as responsible for his miraculous return from death.
This piece (being an homage to this resurrected, fleeing boy) becomes more akin to a living sculpture than a performance due to its subtlety and stillness as well as the objectification of the human body posed atop a pedestal. The boy and tool have been joined and presented together as a single artifact. Rather than fighting off the soldiers, the boy’s escape as well as his relinquishing of the garment denoting death create a metaphor for a boy born into the death world.
Quietly protesting against such an existence, and forever reaching to be witnessed by those who may “resurrect” him or allow him to ascend into sovereignty/non-instrumentality (one outside of the death world), he yearns to achieve what is referred to in necro-politics as “subjectivity”
"The Ignition of Gethsemane" offers a profound exploration of a young, unclothed figure as he flees from pursuing Roman soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane and the thoery surrounding this character.
In the biblical account of Jesus' arrest following Judas' betrayal, a single, enigmatic verse from Mark 14:51-52 reads:
"51. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: 52. And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked."
This passage delineates a young man garbed only in a linen shroud, in pursuit of Jesus during his apprehension. As Roman soldiers attempt to seize him, he abandons the linen cloth and escapes.
In the Old Testament, when God communicates with Moses through the burning bush, He states in ancient Hebrew, "I Am JHVH," which is translated in English as "I am that I am."
The term "JHVH" is traditionally considered sacred and forbidden to be uttered in its ancient Hebrew form due to its profound significance.
Centuries later during the arrest, he is asked by the Roman soldiers “Who are you?”, To which Jesus replies: “I am that I am” causing a rumbling and a shock wave that causes the soldier to fall over.
