Art Basel Miami: Woman Stabbed During Exhibition Mistaken For Art

Life imitating art became a little too real for the people present at the Art Basel Exhibition in Miami on Friday night. According to the Miami Beach Police Department, a woman was stabbed in the neck and arm near an art installation entitled “The Swamp of Sagittarius,” created by artist Naomi Fisher and partner Agatha Wara.

During an interview with the Miami Herald, Fisher recalled the happenings, “A guy walked up to me and said, ‘I thought I saw a performance, and I thought it was fake blood, but it was real blood,’” she told the local newspaper.

Detective Kathleen Prieto revealed the injuries were non-life threating and the victim, Shin Seo Young, was immediately assisted and transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The attacker, a 24-year-old woman identified as Siyuan Zhao, was arrested by the authorities and charged with attempted murder.

Miami PD reports state that Zhao yelled, “I had to kill her and two more” and “I had to watch her bleed” when the police caught her. She later confessed to have stabbed Young with an X-Acto knife. They did not know each other.

Some witnesses believed the stabbing was part of an art performance. Others thought the police tape with the words “crime scene” on it was part of an art installation. No further details about the incident have been disclosed.