"..."Three Inches (Black)," 1997: a series of photos of the artist's hands, the index finger of one tattooed with black ink. It is impossible to miss the erotic connotations - the finger looks pretty phallic. From the accompanying text one learns that the length of the tattoo is equal to that which would reach the heart of another person if inserted through the chest cavity. We're thereby led to imagine the temporal lapse involved in the digit's penetration of another body. The black color symbolizes a border, the temporal limit between the life and death of the Other - the moment of inner contact, which could also be the moment of orgasm...."
from exhibition review:
Douglas Gordon - Kunstverein Hannover, Germany
ArtForum, Feb, 1999 by Boris Groys
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_6_37/ai_54050187
