The series Two Takes on American Foreign Policy intend to represent apolitically, a theme that is particularly charged with political views. Again NyK use tiny explosive boxes to portray this with a series of boxes containing a hidden firecracker always leaving the wick exposed, left to coax the viewer into lighting it, starting a manipulative and destructive relationship between the audience and the artwork. Two Takes on American Foreign Policy is comprised of two pieces, For a Few Dollars More and For a Fistful of Dollars, both taking their titles from classic Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western films.
In the piece, For a Few Dollars More, a portrait of Clint Eastwood as a cowboy is created by 36 explosive boxes. As each of these boxes are exploded the image of Clint disappears revieling classic shots of men shot by Eastwood throughout his long history in film. On the other hand, in For a Fistful of Dollars, the flag of the United States of America is composed of 54 explosive boxes. When lit an explosion exposes the viewer to the flags of countries that have been intervened by USA since World War II. The flag is spread out through six frames each containing a segment of the flag, This piece is meant to be sold to different collectors so the the flag will never be seen in one piece, dissolving all political ties.
These are two pieces that represent two perspectives on American foreign policy. Clint Eastwood has been portrayed as the iconic American idol, a man of secrecy, with no name and no past. These are the characteristics that were experienced when US came and intervened in Chile during the 70's, and has been a predominant pattern amongst US intervention within many other countries.
It is relevant to remember that during almost all Clint Eastwood movies especially the ones he is profiled as a cowboy, Eastwood never dies. He finally dies in the hand of Asian immigrants in his latest movie "Gran Torino", filmed in 2008 when USA's dominant power is being threatened by Asian countries.
For a Few Dollars More, 2010, 12 4 x 6 in. boxes, firecrackers
For a Fistful of Dollars, 2010, 64 4 x 6 in. boxes, firecrackers