Staying in clink
A New York artist rents out his jail cell for $1 a night
A New York city artist is renting his studio to guests for $1 (Bt32) a night, but there’s a catch: the guests must stay behind bars for three hours a day and adhere to strict rules by the clock against talking, reading, sleeping and exercising.
Miao Jiaxin has built a jail cell for the guests in his rooftop studio in New York City’s Brooklyn borough. The lock-up measures just 1.82 by 2.43 metres and there is only 1.82 metres of headroom.
He is taking reservations for guests, who must commit to bunk on a single cot for a minimum of two days and maximum of five days.
It’s an offbeat art installation in which Miao, 37, says he is poking fun at the rat race and loneliness of New York City life. The guests become part of the artistic performance.
“To live in my jail cage, you don’t have to commit any crime in New York City,” Miao writes on a Facebook page where he advertises the unique accommodation bargain in one of the world’s most expensive cities. “However you have to follow the rules.”
Guests must commit to at least three hours inside the cage each morning, during which time they are prohibited from using Internet or any electronic devices, reading books, talking to anybody, exercising or even sleeping.
Except for the required three-hour period, during which the studio is open to spectators, the guests can move in and out of the cage house and have access to the roof deck, where the guests “are greeted with fresh air and a great view of Brooklyn and Manhattan.”
Two surveillance cameras monitor the cage, which is also equipped with a toilet and a sink.
They broadcast a live feed of the cell 24 hours a day. Guests failing to follow the rules can be fined $100 a day, Miao threatens.
Art lovers can sign up to see the cage during its daily three-hour use period, or can watch the stream via the Internet, Miao says.
He started his artistic career as a street photographer taking pictures of prostitutes. Then he began dressing up as one. Later he developed a persona as a transvestite web celebrity in Shanghai, China, where he lived before migrating to the US in 2006.
He often converts his work into photographs and videos that stand on their own as art works, according to his website.
“I want to convey several messages through this project,” says Miao, who rents other rooms as a side business via lodging websites.
“As an artist I want to describe the psychological, New York City life experience. In reality it is like living in a cage and the cage has a lock. You can lock and unlock yourself anytime, the same as in my cage, but you are not engaged with social activities.”
“I migrated to the US eight years ago, and after these many years, I still see there is gap among people,” he said. “You live here, but you won’t probably know your neighbour – forever – so it is like living in a cage either physically or mentally.”
He contends one of the reasons people are increasingly growing apart is their reliance on their mobile phones and other electronic devices. “So by asking them not to use anything during the three hours, I want to show that it is possible to stay away from gadgets.”
Jail Cell is one of multiple artistic works by Miao that have got into the limelight.
Previously, the artist has travelled inside a suitcase carried by his mother through urban crowds in Shanghai. He has blended his naked body into the bare streets of New York City at midnight during all the seasons, including on snowy days.
He did live-feed erotic performances on an interactive pornographic broadcasting website.
He dressed as a Chinese businessman for one year when he was doing his master-of-fine-arts degree at the school of the Art Institute in Chicago. He then walked on the stage to receive his degree during the commencement in 2011 in a tracksuit – with his pants down.
In one of the most bizarre performances, Miao shaved his head and eyebrows, burned them together with his passport in front of his Chinese parents, who were watching him via Skype. He then ate the ash with a sandwich.
Initially, Miao advertised his jail cell on the Airbnb accommodation portal, but the lodging site pulled the listing in less than 24 hours.
More than 940 people have “liked” his Facebook post, which advertises the space under the title, “Jail is seeking prisoners.”
The prisoners seem eager to go behind bars. August is already booked out. One intending guest desires to stay for two nights and follow all the rules for the whole 48 hours, he said.
Learn more about Miao Jiaxin click www.miaojiaxin.com or Facebook/miaojiaxinstudio.
