In times of political turmoil an effigy of the offending 'other' is publicly burnt. This ritualistic murder by proxy is often transmitted by video for the world to see. Nobody has burnt an effigy of themselves, until now... To burn an effigy of a hated other has become an acceptable part of contemporary protest. To burn an effigy of oneself seems to be incompatible with this vision of the self as worthy and the other as an  object of hatred. To carry out this virtual destruction of the self and share the footage with the world is to invite others to hate oneself, creating an unresolved tension.

(Image: Susan Bowman. Burning an Effigy of Myself)