Roman Ondák. Measuring the Universe (2007), MoMA
As
usual there was a long wait in the Ufficio
Matricola, where prisoners go through all the ceremonies of admission and
discharge. A man ahead of us, brought in
by the American Counter-Intelligence Corps, was being fingerprinted, and one
realised, even in such a small detail as this, how barbarous the system is, and
how clear was the intention that the prisoner must be made to realise that
everything civilised had been left behind.
One of the office staff simply grabbed the man's hand, pressed the
splayed-out fingers on to the inked pad, then on a form, then gestured to him to
go and wipe his fingers on the wall.
Lewis, Norman. 1983. Naples '44. London.
Eland. Page 81.
First published 1978, William Collins.
