Art student's performance led to death by asphyxiation

Colombian art student John Jairo Villamil has died after covering his head with a rubbish bag during a performance piece. He suffocated during a performance about his perception of his hometown Bogota.



It involved him covering his head with a bag and placing his feet inside a bucket of water while holding a chain with bills in one hand and a leaf in the other.

The 25-year-old’s audience at the Universidad del Bosque, in Colombia, thought his heavy breathing and convulsions were part of the performance and did not react.


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He was described as brain dead immediately after the show – which aimed to depict the perception of his hometown Bogota – and declared dead five days later. His mother is said to have provided tips on how to make the performance more shocking and is now blaming the university for neglect.