The work creates a jarring conflict between the word Jude, with its charged historic meaning, and the light, shallow execution that is unable to contain its burden.
The confusing pop inversion (as a re-make of pop artist Robert Indiana’s LOVE) subverts the original and deplorable meaning of the “yellow badge” which was constructed from distorted shards of Hebrew letters to create the word JUDE.
The Nazi regime used it to forcibly label the Jews of occupied Europe during and before World War II.
Observer is caught between the initial frivolity flowing from the work, and darker, more complex feelings. He is forced to take part in the work: He is asked to hold a special bar, measuring his heart rate – the installation inflates only if the pulse of the observer’s heart proves that he has been moved by the work. Can the creation construct a new image: LOVE JUDE?