to soothe, Hering Raum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
1996
performance documentation image
In a live performance at Herring Raum Bonn, Bonn, Germany Sheehan, wearing an apron, dips into a bucket of petroleum jelly, comes up holding a gob and she warms it in her bare hands. She faces the white felt bust wall relief hung on the wall and lovingly rubs the jelly on the chest. Next Sheehan produces a long razor with which she shaves-off the petroleum jelly. After a second reapplication, Sheehan steps on the start button of a vacuum cleaner and uses it to loudly suck the jelly off the chest before applying a final soothing layer to the now ravaged felt surface.