Alternative Modes of Penetration

2019 - MoMA PS1

Alternative Modes of Penetration is a series of performances organized by King Cobra (documented as Doreen Garner) that engage with the practice of tattooing. Shifting focus away from the permanent images produced by tattoo artists, these performances highlight elements of the tattoo process that often go unnoticed, such as the submissive and dominant roles between tattoo artist and subject, the relationship between sound and skin tension, the physical limits of human flesh, and experiences of voyeurism, violence, and vulnerability. A licensed tattoo practitioner, King Cobra performs with tattoo artists Anderson Luna and Tamara Santibañez, along with collaborator Tommy Martinez.

In one performance, King Cobra creates symbols that reference colonization and the triangular trade between Europe, Africa, and America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Casting white men as sculptural material, and using water instead of ink, Cobra tattoos the skin with inflammation alone, creating distinguishing marks that shame without reward and fade over time. In another performance, Anderson Luna and Tommy Martinez explore the range of sound produced while tattooing the head of performer Anwar Isaacs, using the tension of the skin and the tattoo equipment as raw material for improvised, spatialized live audio processing. Tamara Santibañez tattoos Domina Jia as Yin Quan binds them with Shibari-style bondage, intensifying the dominant and submissive roles of tattoo artists and their subjects.