“A Sapper’s Abyss” by John T. Gibson
Editor’s Note: Underlined content is hyperlinked (each underlined element is a clickable link), leading to further aspects of the content shared, here. (This convention is consistent, throughout Wordgathering.)
Content Warning: The content and themes in this artwork are for mature audiences only. The content, themes, images, and sounds may be disturbing to some. The content includes graphic representations of real gore, brief nudity, combat, and explosives. All photographic images are from the public domain, made available via The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, and have been donated, with permission, from the personal collection of Dr. Jon Bowersox.
Video link (virtual “walk-through”)
“Walk-through” Transcript (accompanies the video link)
Starting with the outside, the black burlap was chosen for its symbolic and aesthetic merit. Burlap is what sandbags are made of, and when a single sheet of black burlap is hanging, it is mildly translucent. Enough so that you can see the pictures inside, but not what they are. The exhibit is 3’x7’ and 8 feet tall, the front door is a 5’ slit, with the burlap draping down from the frame above it. The burlap gives someone a mild sense of claustrophobia and vulnerability because the drapes are not much wider than your shoulders, but the top is open. You can see the rest of the gallery from within. There are chains on the front. They have been broken and rewelded before being broken again. Oh…how often we want to close this box and put it away? It never stays shut, nor should it. The five-foot doorway is to compound that claustrophobic feeling. Since exhibit visitors will be bending down, they will see the sand and MRE trash in the sandbox on the floor. As they stand, they will see the web of the 58 photos (29 double-sided) dangling from a web of fishing lines between four and six feet from the ground. I tried to give the exhibit a Twilight Zone-esque feeling. As you touch one line, the rest move, because they are interconnected by a web of fishing lines going across the top frame. As you swim in this ocean of graphic imagery and war, you forget to look down. There is a pressure plate buried in the trash. A spotlight fills the box. The burlap becomes translucent as the gallery is filled with the sound of an explosion…
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About the Artist
John T. Gibson served as a Combat Engineer with the United States Marine Corps on the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). He received a degree in Social Work from Syracuse University in May 2020, and plans to pursue a graduate degree in art therapy and counseling. John is a disability advocate. As an artist, he works across a variety of mediums. John believes strongly in the healing power of self-expression through any means. “A Sapper’s Abyss” has been described as “a performance piece”; however, John prefers to think of this work as an immersive exhibit. He hopes that the exhibit engages the audience artfully and instructionally, while the audience’s tactile and other experiences inform and embed themselves in the exhibit’s effectiveness. John’s artwork can be found on Instagram @ner.neff.art.