Caracas Chronicles

Much has been said about our newfound ability to tell which items are hidden inside a white supermarket bag. It has been etched into dozens of cartoons by almost all of our satire cartoonists. A commonplace joke that describes the loony state of mind in which we are thanks to scarcity, and all the crazy campaigns by the government to have us in this loony state of mind.

Well, this guy…

New performance: going out to the Metro with the ‪#‎bultoinvisible‬ (#invisiblepack) hoping that people take pictures of it and upload them to their social networks. Inside the backpack there will be a small camera capturing everyone’s faces as they look at the precious products that we haven’t seen in a while. The purpose of the performance is to poke Venezuelans’ curiosity, conformity, and our quality to jump out and ask questions without greeting first: Where did you find Atamel? Where did you find Harina Pan?

This guy took the joke and brought it to a whole new level of punk. He turned it into an actual protest, and a powerful one.

Forget about being mugged or even being apprehended for attempting to create a public disturbance. Considering how things are today, this kid could be thrown in jail for hoarding. As John Manuel said, “this is more of a transgression than anything Marina Abramovic has done in her whole career.”

Hell of a performance.

UPDATE: The performer’s name is Cristobal Ochoa. He is a plastic and conceptual artist living in Caracas. You can check out some of his work here. And if you like it, you can support his upcoming trip to France to represent Venezuela by donating here.