Give Me Body | The Shelter Club

Conceptual Interactive
Performance Art Piece
Manhattan NYC, 1998
© Tania Guerrera

🎨 Fluorescent Body Paint
💡 UltraViolet Black Lights
💃🏽 Shelter Club People
🎼 Dj Timmy Regisford 🈴

Artist Process and Observations:
🎨 The Fallout Shelter Lounge was the space to retreat to from the main dance floor. This is where people took breaks, naps, ate snacks, watched videos, slide shows and lounged when not on the main dance floor.

There…in that room….
Using glow in the dark body paint, I would have a brief conversation with the human canvas channeling a design just for them.

Dancers were either shirtless or wearing bathing suits, revealing as much skin canvas as they felt comfortable with. 😇
💧 Using water soluble non-toxic fluorescent body paint, I painted people with my signature design motifs using 🧚🏼‍♀️whimsical, 🗿tribal designs like:
🌀 Spirals 👁 third eyes 🕊 wings 〰️➿many wavy and straight lines ⭕️ circles and assorted 🔹🔻◾️colorful shapes with 🟣⚫️🔵 many dots.

The original concept was to populate
the dance floor with glowing painted dancers.

I remember someone photographing the artwork but it was one of those
“YOU HAD TO BE THERE” moments.

After the paint, talk and photographs our dancing human canvases were ready to step onto the ultraviolet black 💡 lit dance floor.

All was going smoothly and as expected, dancers were radiant, shining and glowing.

Then…
Dj Timmy Regisford entered the space and the vibe went next level. We heard a @FelaKutiOfficial track and it was on! The energy in the room went 🆙 dancers began to sweat 💦 the paint began to melt and drip. People began shouting, singing, laughing, 🪘playing instruments, rubbing the paint onto each other like baby lotion 🧴 creating a -tribal, wild, 🤩 frenzied🎊 super fun, sexy and 💝 happy atmosphere.

At some point Timmy skillfully began to soothe the space and played Thank You by @BebeWinans one of my most loved songs.

✨ It became a full body spiritual experience.⚡️

When I think about the event, i picture it in slow motion, ethereal.

It was a foreshadowing of the tribal rave dance scene in the movie 🎥 Matrix Reloaded, like entering an Afrofuturistic dimension.

So like I said… Once upon a time… you had to be there…
Thank you #Timmy Regisford and The Shelter fam. #ThankYou💝