THE BIKINI AND BIKINI
THE BIKINI + BIKINI
Projection, 2022
Between 1946 and 1958, the United States detonated 23 nuclear devices at Bikini Atoll, including 20 hydrogen bombs. Among those was the Castle Bravo H-bomb test, which reached a yield of 15 megatons, 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that destroyed Nagasaki in 1945. The blast triggered a tsunami with a 94-foot-high wave. This horrendous act against humanity was conveniently overshadowed by the name of an “explosive” new swimsuit debuted the same week by French designer Louis Réard. Currently, the bikini continues its tradition of surfing waves of toxicity, as a symbol for the over sexualization and objectification of female pro-surfers. This site specific installation holds a cornered space of silence for the history of Bikini and the bikini.
