Running Outburst

1975, 5:56 min, b&w, sound

In his performances, Palestine often uses teddy bears and toy pandas as what he terms "symbols of identification, like another reality of myself." In Running Outburst, these symbolic objects, placed at specific points in his loft, serve as surrogates for Palestine, who remains invisible behind the camera. Chanting, he runs from one object to the next while holding the camera. His movements reach an hysterical intensity, and then slowly subside to a gentle rhythm. Using the camera as an extension of his body, Palestine constructs a visual seismograph that charts a cathartic release, placing the viewer in the position of a voyeur, as well as a surrogate who sees through his subjective point of view.