Mark Jenkins Drapes a Dead Broad Across a Billboard [VIDEO]

billboardRecently, Washington DC artist, Mark Jenkins caused panic in the streets over another one of his crafty life-like sculptures.  Locals in Winston-Salem, NC bugged out and “lost they damn minds” after noticing, what appeared to be, a woman laying motionless across top of an abandoned billboard.  Fearing that the woman might have been dead, shocked pedestrians called in law-enforcement officers to investigate the situation.  Of course, after removing “her” from the sign, authorities quickly realized that the it was nothing more than an elaborate sculpture formed from packing tape.

My only guess is that their assumptions were either:

A)

For some overly dramatic statement, a dying woman must have used her last ounce of remaining strength to scale a huge billboard, only to fall into her eternal slumber length-wise across it’s form.

OR

B)

In a misguided and poorly thought out plan, a murderer chose to hide the remains of their victim on top of the one structure created, specifically to bring attention to anything posted on it.

Here’s Sept. 23, news footage of the scenario via CNN.com:

As mentioned in the video, the art installation was commissioned by SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts) for their project Inside Out: Artists in the Community II.  Furthermore, a video PSA about the event was created by Time Warner, of which CNN is a subdivision.  After all of the crazy unsanctioned street art and public confusion that Jenkins has created in the past, it’s ironic that some of the most chaotic situations and largest concerns seem to be born from the most legit exhibits that he’s ever a part of (see: Greenpeace Bombscare)

The following is the official statement from SECCA about project:

The artists in this groundbreaking public art program are responding to the city, its people, and its many, unique places. As such, many of the projects are in development and will evolve over the life of the program. Each artist will visit Winston-Salem to install his/her respective project, conduct an artist talk, lead classes and/or workshops, and interact with the local community. The following descriptions outline each project, and show photos of past works that will relate to the 2009 program

Other sculptures by Mark Jenkins from Inside/Out:

Mark Jenkins Secca bed

Mark Jenkins Secca foilage

Mark Jenkins Sleep Walker

Mark Jenkins tree

For more information about Mark Jenkins, check out the following links:

xmarkjenkinsx.com (official Mark Jenkins Website)
Pigeons, Shit, Tampons, Heroin, and Vomit (“Purple Splendor” exhibit and Bio/Video/pics)

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