Shia LaBeouf says the U.S. is 'simply not safe' for his anti-Trump exhibit
Shia LaBeouf has moved the hewillnotdivide.us live stream for the fourth time. The politically charged exhibit intended to last the duration of the Trump presidency now resides at the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT) in Liverpool. The U.S. is "simply not safe enough for this artwork to exist," LaBeouf and his artistic partners explained in a statement.
As it was originally conceived, the exhibit invited anyone to come to the live stream and repeat "He will not divide us" into the camera. Unfortunately, legions of online trolls and neo-Nazis heeded the call. Thanks to the attacks, which occasionally turned violent, the exhibit has been shuffled around the country.
The exhibit opened at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, on Inauguration Day. That institution later removed the equipment, claiming the site had become "a flashpoint of violence." (LaBeouf himself was arrested shortly before they brought the hammer down on it.)
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It then took up residence outside the El Rey Theater in Albuquerque, where it lasted a couple of weeks before gunshots were heard in the area. FACT confirmed that said gunshots were not related to the live stream, but the "neo-Nazis" drawn to the area were.
On March 8, it was moved to an "unknown location," though this was not enough to make it any less of a target, apparently. FACT writes, "Following escalating threats and criminal activity coordinated via online message boards 4chan and 8chan, which included the theft and defacement of the artwork by white supremacists, and a field at the location being set on fire, the artists have now been forced to site the project outside of the United States."
Now it's in Liverpool, where LaBeouf and team have actually collaborated with FACT before. In 2015, LaBeouf and his partners, Luke Turner and Nastja Säde Rönkkö, took phone calls for a project called #TouchMySoul.
LaBeouf tweeted a photo of the flag with details of the move Wednesday morning.
His No. 1 P.R. guy and supporter from day one, Jaden Smith, retweeted the news shortly thereafter.
Vanity Fair has reached out to LaBeouf for further comment on the most recent move.
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