Art, experimental performance and politics all converge at the Women's Studies Research Center's new exhibit "Geobodies: A Question of Boundaries." The exhibit, which opened Thursday, focuses on bringing global, feminist and activist art to the Brandeis community. The multimedia exhibition features the work of two international artists, Tanja Ostojic and Ursula Biemann, who cope with the effects of globalization on women's lives by creating non-traditional art that serves more as a statement than aesthetic pleasure.

When entering the exhibit, every viewer-or in this case, participant-must sign in with a fingerprint in the color of ink that he or she feels best represents him or herself. The choices were red, blue, black and green, representing American, foreigner, woman and nexus/alien. This is merely the beginning of an odd exhibit.

The first piece is the "World Sex Work Archive: 33 Interviews with Trafficked Women, recorded between 1998-2003," by Ursula Biemann. These are presented in both video format, with headphones and subtitles for viewers, and with blurry photographs of people illegally crossing borders, with only a caption of the name, date, and city of origin of the "trafficked" person in the center. Information on the exhibit explained the need for awareness of the fact that women are often illegally trafficked into countries to be used for prostitution, rather than given the opportunities for a better life. While the exhibit was rooted in the good intentions of spreading awareness, it wasn't engaging as art, per se. The photographs weren't really clear, and the video was edited poorly. However, this was definitely the more straightforward piece of the evening, featuring issues battled by both feminism and activism.

The other exhibit featured in Geobodies was more provocative. "Crossing Borders Series: Looking for a Husband with a EU Passport, 2000-2005" tells the story of how Ostojic posted a nude photo ad of herself on the Internet to try to find a man who would marry her so that she could attain an EU passport. The exhibit includes the ad, responses from some of the many men who answered her ad, and photos of the initial first date and meeting with the man she chose to marry. Ostojic, who was present at the opening, spoke about her piece and how it was purely "a marriage for papers," not a marriage for love or emotion. Born into Yugoslavian citizenship, Ostojic was left without a valid passport after the disintegration of her home country, and has since struggled with travel. The marriage and exhibit are about making a statement on the messy state of the government, but in the process, the institution of marriage is, in a way, abused. Perhaps society's hope for romance blinds the exhibit, for the use of marriage purely to prove a political and social statement seems extreme. And the feminism and activism elements are difficult to find, if present at all. There is no visual art present at this exhibit besides the one nude advertisement and a few extra photos, none of which appear to have been taken with much care. As a political statement this exhibit can be fascinating; as an art exhibit it is vague and lacks interesting visual artistic expression.

I encourage Brandeis students to visit "Geobodies: A Question of Boundaries" and judge this art for themselves. These projects and their statements have unclear messages and are best understood on a person-to-person basis. There was a wide range of opinions present at the opening, ranging from visitors who were fascinated and supportive, to others who literally grew red with anger. Experience this multimedia exhibition and see for yourself.

"Geobodies: A Question of Boundaries" runs through Jan. 31 in the Kniznick Gallery in the Women's Studies Research Center.