Love Letter to a False Prophet
*The piece, The Killing of Hypatia, screams for the women who are never going to TONE IT DOWN and to all people who have been living under the oppression of a patriarchal power structure. Keep stepping forward, never back off.*
In a response to my January installation at A/NT Gallery (Model and Child, Covid Kid) an online content creator touting religious enlightenment posted an unintentionally comical video in which he assigned my work meaning that I had never even considered. I have never in my life thought of child bondage… and I think the minds of the people obsessed with such a topic are deeply disturbed.
My work was ASSIGNED meaning by this man, I was never asked my intention nor was I asked to interpret my work. He chose to remain ignorant and uninformed for the sake of creating a narrative, one in which I was not invited to participate and one which brought him attention and “likes”, his ultimate goal. My work was labeled “Satanic” and the alarmist false prophet instructed his viewers to “contact the authorities”. He also claimed that I was COMING FOR THEIR BABIES which I assure you, is not true. I want nothing to do with their (or anyone’s) babies.
Although my work had already been removed from the gallery to make way for February’s show, this false prophet’s viewers followed his instructions to “alert the authorities”. The gallery received phone calls, one was from a woman in a state of complete panic at the thought of a CHILD being kept in BONDAGE at the gallery. The board member who addressed her concerns was forced to repeatedly correct the woman who seemed disconnected from the reality that this, indeed, was a mannequin… not an actual child. The frantic caller also accused the gallery of housing works from “criminals” and “pedophiles”. This was a desperate stretch to justify a fabricated narrative, it’s completely untrue and in a court of law it’s illegal to broadcast. One is expected to produce a criminal record and proof of such a heinous crime when making a claim of this magnitude.
*This is a warning to all who tend toward dishonesty to fabricate a narrative for personal gain. If you lie, air it, and I catch wind of it… there could be legal ramifications from which you may not recover. Read that again.*
Other comments on social media echoed the same delusion, that there were CHILDREN, actual living human children, being kept in bondage, on leashes at the gallery… This is complete insanity.
As I began to realize that these people were experiencing genuine panic at the thought of this child abuse being carried out, my perspective shifted from “Dear GOD evangelical Christians are stupid” to “These poor people have been manipulated into a frenzy by a man whose personal gain is dependent upon the engagement of his followers”. This guy doesn’t care about them, the art nor the children. He certainly doesn’t care that he’s potentially putting my life in danger by alerting his delusional followers of an abhorrent (and imagined) crime and airing a false report of child abuse in an effort to garner financial support.
After a few seconds of research I found this guy’s YouTube channel; He’s attempting a career as a luxury real estate agent in addition to posting misinformation on the internet “in the name of Jesus”. FFS…
I began to feel even more sorry for the people he’s manipulating. Exploiting people’s good nature and inherent instincts to protect children is repulsive, and borderline criminal. Slander certainly is illegal… as is defamation. (*Maybe read that warning again*).
“The Killing of Hypatia” speaks to men like this content creator who initiate SATANIC PANIC for personal gain. Using ignorance-based fear, they direct the feeble minded into doing their destructive bidding as they themselves reap reward. They’re using dishonest tactics in search of notoriety for the sole purpose of gaining power and riches without doing any real work for it… the very definition of FRAUD. They are not working to build community, they are intent on destroying it. And if you are a Christian whose intentions are to destroy others in order to thrive, well, you haven’t changed since 415AD.
