In “Tongue-Tied,” we see an isolated mouth, lip-synching with President George W. Bush’s speech in which he attempted to justify the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Using a technique which manipulates live figures in a sculptural, animation-like style, Vivian Wong shows us the specter of an animated soldier’s uniform, repeatedly cutting out its own tongue. At the end, the figure takes tongues from the pile he has made, and stuffs them back into the president’s mouth, muting his voice.
This very short, political video combines a few elements which resonate subtly with each other. The ideas of torture, the silencing of dissent, and resistance are ably embodied with a few simple images.
