In this art piece… (2012/2014/2015) is a video series which alludes to various art works as a critique of artistic tropes. The series reappropriates artistic gestures while subverting them, thereby situating the artist’s role in the artistic world. The phrases spoken are meant to be ironic. Works alluded to include Ai Weiwei’s Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995), Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Manifesto for Maintenance Art, 1969, as well as Rebecca Belmore’s Vigil. Each video serves a specific critique of the expectations of art and the artist, in the most recent: In this art piece… (an act of resistance), loosely refers to Belmore’s Vigil (2002). In the conception of this piece I was influenced Gilles Deleuze and Alexander R. Galloway’s idea of a society which is moving away from discipline (as proposed by Foucault) but into one of control. As such who or what one is resisting to (when he or she chooses to do so) becomes increasingly unclear, more importantly, we (the resister) is also a part of the thing in which is resisted upon. In other words the restriction is self-inflicted and whatever we are fighting against we also have a stake in. Taking this into account I wanted to question the trope of using art as an act of resistance as well as to question the very internal structure of art making and art’s purpose in society; does art have to be rebellious? Who are we resisting against? As such the gesture is self-inflicted and takes place in the space of the artist studio. The phrase recited before the action: “in this art piece, I will be demonstrating an act of resistance, because art’s role is to subvert authority” provides an explicit framework in which this piece should and can be understood.