You’ve already felt like this election cycle is a nightmare situation. Now you get to experience it up close, just in time for Halloween. Mexican artist Pedro Reyes – with the help of needed Kickstarter backers – is working on (what he considers) a terrifying exhibition set to debut at Brooklyn Army Terminal this October, the subject of which he hopes will instill fear in even the most relaxed of citizens: politics. It’s a terrifying tour of “the haunted house that already exists in our minds,” exposing us to “a new kind of monster, this is a monster that is actually chasing us in real life,” according to the campaign.
Doomocracy, a new immersive installation, will see the blending together of two events “haunting the American cultural imagination: Halloween and the nightmare that is the U.S. presidential election,” according to its Kickstarter page.
The installation, done in collaboration with public arts nonprofit Creative Time, is planned to run from Oct. 7 and through days before the election, and promises to “shock, amuse, provoke, even disturb.”
Creative Time is the organization behind the recent Fly By Night exhibit featuring trained pigeons, the Kara Walker sculpture at the Domino sugar factory, the Nick Cave (the artist, not the musician) horses in Grand Central and the annual World Trade Center Tribute in Light, so you know they’re going to go all out for this house of actual horrors.
“Be forewarned, Doomocracy will challenge you both physically and mentally and by choosing to enter you will encounter all those ‘mature content’ things you’re usually warned of… and more,” the disclaimer on the project’s Kickstater reads. “Taking place in the midst of a vital moment in history, our project offers the perfect platform and location for dialogue around the contemporary state of global and U.S. politics. Bringing an immersive ‘society is on the verge of complete chaos’ experience to life takes set building, actors, costumes, props… Politics ain’t cheap and the show must (and will!) go on.”
It will take place in the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, an already spooky decommissioned army facility first build for World War I.
Donating $50 to the project gets backers to “Doomocrocy Party Insider” status which includes a digital exhibition script, bumper sticker, digital edition, a campaign GIF and online crediting. A $100 donation will get donors one ticket to the exhibition, a bumper sticker and online crediting. Those willing to shell out $1,000 will become “Doomocrocy Super PAC members,” scoring four tickets to the exhibition, four launch party tickets, your name in the haunted house, a button, a pendant, a bumper sticker and online crediting.
“For over four decades, Creative Time has commissioned ambitious public art projects and made artists’ biggest dreams come true—it’s what we do best,” the non-profit writes. “Now Pedro has entrusted us to bring his worst nightmare to life, and we’re turning to you for help! Just like democracy, Doomocracy takes people-power. Pledge today and become a part of team Doomocracy. The more you give, the more you get. From guaranteed tickets to a private Halloween tour, it’s pay to play politics for an experience you’ll never forget, no matter how hard you try.”
The project currently $66,000 of its $80,000 goal, with eight days to go. For more information, visit the project’s Kickstarter page here.
This story originally appeared in the The Brooklyn Reporter.