OMOFUMA

HIS NOSTRILS WERE CLEAR

Marcus Omofuma was an asylum seeker from Nigeria who was killed by three police officers during a deportation flight from Austria to Sofia on May 1, 1999.

“His nostrils were free” is a performance by Hüseyin Işık that references the circumstances of his death by reenacting the police procedure through other means, starkly illustrating its brutality. A burning candle is placed under a glass dome with several holes. The holes are gradually sealed with tape until the candle receives too little oxygen and extinguishes.

The performance was presented twice: first on the first anniversary of Omofuma’s death, May 1, 2000, at the Siebenstern Cultural Center, and again a year later, in May 2001, at the Interkulttheater. Mehmet Cumhur Adatepe enhanced the scene with slides of nostrils projected onto the wall and the playback of breathing sounds. Gabriela Szabo joined Hüseyin Işık in sealing the holes.