Boney Dust

BIFPA, Ulster University 2024

Duration 18min

This performance art piece explores the intersections of power, masculinity, and the violence embedded within societal constructs. By juxtaposing combat pants with a business suit, Alex Conway highlights the convergence of war and corporate power, exposing how violence and diplomacy often blur into one another.

The act of brushing teeth—typically associated with cleanliness and routine—becomes grotesque as toy soldiers, representing militarism, emerge from Conway’s mouth. This image reflects the internalization of conflict and the ways violence is absorbed into everyday life. A meat phallus, serving as a crude symbol of masculinity, is paired with a burning cigar to suggest the destructive force of male aggression and dominance.

When Conway places a flag—a symbol of nationalism—atop the pile of meat, it becomes sullied and trivialized, pointing to the futility of war and the corrosion of patriotic ideals. The final gesture, blowing the toy soldiers down with cigar smoke, underscores the ease with which life is extinguished in conflict. Conway exits the space, leaving behind only a lingering cloud of smoke—a residue of power, destruction, and absence.