Long Cane

2009

Performance Object

Aluminum and carbon fibre white cane pieces, elastic chord.

Long Cane is a prop that Carmen Papalia has activated during improvised walks in crowded public spaces. A critique of institutional models for accessibility – which the artist maintains are restrictive and marginalizing by design – Long Cane represents the sense of marginalization that Papalia felt when he used a standard-issue white cane to identify himself. The absurd length of the cane renders it useless as a device that can detect obstacles directly in front of the user, transforming Papalia into an inconvenient moving obstacle as he sweeps it from side to side.