A San Francisco-based performance artist says anyone who purchases a gold Apple smart watch is “rich and evil,” and has now devised a plan for evil-doers to make amends to her.
Qinmin Liu, an interdisciplinary artist from China, routinely uses her body to bring attention to social issues and has now taken issue with your Apple watches.
“If you own or plan to purchase a 18k gold Apple watch, you are rich and evil,” declared Liu in a Google Forum. “We are offering you one way out: donate to us.”
The 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition begins at $10,000. The most expensive one, at $17,000, is the 38-mm model and features a red buckle.
“As an artist, I think Apple is a phenomenon, and everyone is influenced by it. When I see people lined up and waiting for eight hours to get a newest Apple product, I consider it a performance from my artistic perspective,” Liu wrote to Business Insider via email.
“To be honest, I don’t really care about Apple’s products, but I do care [about] the motivations & desires & curiosity that influence human beings’ actions,” she continued.
The artist, best known for protesting social media by walking the streets of San Francisco, practically naked, covered in rice, has yet to unveil plans as to what she will do with them, but did offer partial details to SFGate:
“I will use human bodies and watches, so it will become an installation and performance piece,” she said.
Liu has set a goal to receive 50 rose or yellow gold Apple Watches by June 1, and claims to have already received 27 pledges in her Google Forum thus far; 16 donors from the United States, eight from China, and one each from India, South Korea, and North Korea, according to Business Insider.
“I hope Bill Gates can donate to us,” Liu added. “He probably hates Apple Watch more than anyone, since he can’t make one. But he is very supportive to art. He can certainly fulfill all our needs of 50 Apple Watches.”
The Apple Smart Watch will make its debut on April 24 and will be available in a variety of colors.