The Im-BLEACHment of George W. Bush

By: Diane Bush
Submitted: 01/15/2009

Diane Bush, looking for a last-ditch effort to gain recognition for her anti-war photography and her published book, WARHEADS (Kuda Editions 2006)brainstormed with fellow artist, Jerry Ross (her brother)to use the graphic technique of throwing bleach on C-prints, as used in her book WARHEADS, to completely bleach out a picture of Georg W. Bush, and then videotape the action for submission to YOUTUBE. Diane then decided to take the idea further by inviting members of the community to join her in bleaching out a picture of George Bush, in her "visual exorcism". She supplied large photos, small cups of diluted bleach, lab coats, and goggles for the event. She sent out press releases, and arranged for a videographer, Tony Quirk, to shoot and edit the piece. She also contacted the ACLU to make sure the police would not take her away, as one lawyer friend suggested. Everything went just as planned, and the crowd of about 200 people had a great time venting. The end result was quite attractive, and not blank white as she feared. Sixty- nine people signed a release and threw bleach. Others just watched and cheered. Despite trying to get the local press to take notice, Diane did not get any local press until Jan 12, three weeks after the video went up. There is still no national press, despite e-mails to numerous publications. She is not sure if the video should come down after George W. Bush leaves the White House, but she is considering taking it down Jan 21. She is going to take macro pictures of the red, white, and blue "tears" left on the Im-bleached print.