In Naturalization , the participant metaphorically surrenders ties to citizenship and authority to gain access to a place where territorial borders are absent and conflicting identities peacefully coexist.
Naturalization is about navigating and separating.
As the latex suit is opaque, individual characteristics are obscured and differences between peoples are diminished. Differences of ideology and need that appear overwhelming, could be bridged, they posit, if commonalities, physical and otherwise, were a greater focus of attention. The Naturalized participants visually resemble a Golem , a figure in ancient Jewish myth who is an artificial being created by man to protect Jews from evil. The Golem has come to represent survival, redemption, deliverance, even messianism. Many artists turn to video to express something they are unable to achieve in another media, such as capturing an action in motion or a non-tactile observation of the body.