3-hour durational performance

flour, cornstarch, white chocolate, mints, food color

Commissioned for Art All Night, DC, 2017

Standing out on the façade of the old Wonder Bread Factory are white crosses. In the late nineteenth century, it was established as the Dorsch’s White Cross Bakery.  Not an original part of the architecture, the white crosses were intended to relieve fears that their food products may not be safe after the controversy of Upton Sinclair's 1906 book, The Jungle.

Sinclair intentionally portrayed the horrors of harsh working conditions that particularly exploited the lives of immigrant workers. His intention was to advance the cause of Socialism and labor reform in the U.S.  What remained on the minds of the novel’s readers, however, were rampant  unsanitary conditions in the meat packing / food processing industry. 

The interconnectivity of Capitalism, the commercial food industry, and food poverty have extended with new complexities into the twentieth century.   Wonderwerk for Washington DC by Washington DC provides space to consider collective responsibility, shared labor, and the role of the artist in reimagining and recreating balances of power.

+This piece is dedicated to Yoko Ono, and the work she has given to DC and the world