Political Fabric
Shack Obscura at Klaudia Marr
About the tapestries
About the title
Life Imitates Art
About the Title:

Signing Statement Law, the original title of this work, refers to a protocol that was used by President Bush to nullify legislation banning torture that had been overwhelmingly approved by the United States Senate in October, 2005.

An Alternate Set of Procedures quotes the euphemism for torture used by President Bush on September 6, 2006 when he revealed that the United States had, in fact, operated numerous secret prisons around the world where detainees had been interrogated using means that went beyond Common Article III of the Geneva Convention. It was during this surrealistic speech that the President memorably asked, “What does that mean, ‘outrages upon human dignity’ ?”


Approved 9.29.06 refers to the date that the shameful Military Commissions Act was passed. Among its myriad unjust provisions the act formally licenses the evasion of the Geneva Convention pertaining to torture and revokes habeas corpus.

John Nava
June 30, 2007

Signing Statement Law or An Alternate Set of Procedures (Approved 9.29.06)
2006 | 114 x 77 inches | Jacquard Tapestry | Edition of 5
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