DOMESTIC TENSION

Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal, who has been living in self-imposed exile within the confines of FLATFILEgalleries, Chicago, will leave the gallery for the first time in 30 days on Monday, June 4, at 5pm.
Bilal, who created the virtual paintball piece to illustrate the continual danger facing citizens in Iraq, has not left the gallery since May 4th. The installation, titled DOMESTIC TENSION, is being followed in over 130 countries around the globe. Its site has received 80,000,000 hits, and 60,000 paintballs have been shot. It has polarized the community, bringing together protective groups like the VIRTUAL human shield, who take turns aiming the gun away from Bilal around the clock.