Since 1977, Mullican has been working under hypnosis, which he considers a way of breaking the patterns of everyday life, in an effort to examine his subconscious. In this altered state, Mullican becomes someone he refers to as "that person": an ageless, genderless being that is a passenger inhabiting his body. In public performances, that person makes artwork while talking to himself through a haze of hypnotically induced intoxication or psychosis.
Untitled (Learning from That Person's Work: Room 1) is a large-scale manifestation of that person's activity. This disorienting, maze-like installation consists of twelve parts, in which bed sheets are covered with nine collaged ink-on-paper drawings. An accompanying video brings that person—mumbling and humming to voices he hears as the water fills and drains from a bathtub—directly into the installation. This immersive environment invites viewers to step into the wild terrain of Mullican's subconscious—and that person's reality.
Gallery label from Sites of Reason: A Selection of Recent Acquisitions, June 11–September 28, 2014.
