In 2008 James Powderly was invited by the group “Students for a free Tibet” to support their cause during the Olympic Games in Beijing. While preparing to debut the L.A.S.E.R. Stencil, a handheld green laser with micro-stencils to beam simple messages up to three stories high, Powderly was arrested, detained and interrogated for ten days at Chongwen Detention Center by Chinese authorities. (Read the extensive article on artnet)
Soon after his return Powderly started to work on “Baltimore” , a comic book recollection of his experiences in China and their prehistory, with befriended artists. A print of the cover design and original panels of the story by artist Jihoi Lee where exhibited at BLK River Festival’s 2009 groupshow in Vienna.
The Interview on James Powderly’s BLK River contribution, detainment in China, work and life with GRL/ FAT Lab, filmed and conducted by tagr.tv’s Emanuel Andel got also featured by ORF’s science magazine Futurezone:
http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1635410/
http://graffitiresearchlab.com/
