Plague Column: Known Unknown, 1995

mixed media installation
32 ¼ × 12 in. (81.92 × 30.48 cm)

The title refers to a Viennese plague column from the 17th century, in which the bubonic plague is represented as a witch; the victory over disease is imagined as the conquering of an unruly and malignant femininity. Video loops of enlarged permutated cancer cells are juxtaposed with grids of religious icons. The savagery of the witch hunt and of breast cancer itself are unified within the maligned body, both feared and desired.