The Audible Gasp

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Artist: Robin Bernstein

Title: The Audible Gasp

Attribution: The Audible Gasp, 2023, Robin L Bernstein

Year: 2023

Materials: String and Wax on Wood

Dimensions: 46" x 38"

Image Statement: Fear of reprisal, rape, torture, and murder motivated tens of thousands of German citizens to commit mass suicide as the victorious Russians advanced in April and May 1945. Civilians, government workers and military personnel jumped, cut their wrists, shot themselves (and their families), or bit down on capsules of Potassium Cyanide, which ends life within 4 minutes. Death by Potassium Cyanide creates an Audible Gasp, which can be heard when respiration ceases.