EM: Ah yes! Tell me about Sarah Baker and the Ominous Ox.

SB: It was a collaboration with Andy Hsu. In celebration of Year of the Ox at the Victoria & Albert museum, we created a two-person Ox costume, inspired by the Chinese Lion, which “Sarah Baker” ushered around the museum while it reluctantly dispensed Ominous fortunes from his third eye for the audience. “Sarah Baker” was wearing a next-season’s futuristic Alexander McQueen and was played by a Russian actress, Anna Bondareva.

Sarah Baker and Andy Hsu - "Sarah Baker and the Ominous Ox." Courtesy of the Victoria Albert Museum and the artists.

EM: Did she follow a script or character outline that you came up with?

SB: I showed her my work and Marlene Dietrich’s character in the film Touch of Evil to inspire her role. Her instruction was to be haughty and selective. The fortunes were not necessarily “good,” but the audience flocked around her to try to get one.

EM: Did you choose Marlene Dietrich’s role because of her mysteriousness?

SB: Anna is a good actress, however, I suspect that this role came naturally to her. I met her at a poker game in London and she definitely demanded attention, plus she fleeced us all. Marlene is a fortune teller in Touch of Evil but also a bitch. “Your future is all used up,” is her famous line.

EM: What was it like having someone play you or a version of you?

SB: Terrific! For my next project, I will have several Sarah Bakers. If I brand myself, then an actress can wear that brand. Apparently Charlie Chaplin entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest and he placed third!

EM: You have stated, in another interview, that you seek to “reinvent history” — to put people that have been the best at what they do but failed to receive recognition in their rightful place.

SB: I can reinvent history through fantasy. It would be a challenging endeavor to actually do it! In art, though, you can do anything you want and that is very freeing. I often get upset with the way we ignorantly mistreat certain people who make massive contributions to society. Bill May is a good example, as a male synchronized swimmer. The public, first of all, dismisses synchronized swimming, and especially a man doing it. What’s worse is that, even though Bill May was once the most influential synchronized swimmer and unbeatable in competition, he was rejected by other synchronized swimmers and the synchronized swimming society because of his gender. In 2004, I made a video of Bill May doing what he does best, as a tribute to him. He is swimming with the ‘04 US Olympic team who he was coaching at the time, as he was not allowed to compete in the Olympics. I set the seven-minute video to rap and R&B music — Eminem, D12 and Usher. He usually swims to “Singin’ In The Rain.” This juxtaposition of ultra violent, powerful male lyrics with a cool beat made Bill a contender. It twisted the sexuality somehow to make him “cool,” and men and women both love to watch him. He is beautiful!

To learn more about Sarah Baker, visit her website.

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