2023
NoNation
In «Sweetened Speech,» I interact with a cow’s tongue. During the action, I pierce the tongue several times with a tapestry needle to run a thick thread through it; this allows me to use the tongue as a mallet, holding it with my mouth and executing a pendulum movement in which my body is the pivot and the tongue hits me from one side and the other. I constantly rub pieces of paper on the rough surface of the taste buds and show my tongue to the spectators. I recite some poems in which I talk about evasion and postponement as successful forms of social interaction, while the conflictive, the dense, the real and the bitter, are postponed or ignored in favor of cordiality and harmony. I end with a couples photo session with volunteers from the audience posing with me, making grotesque faces and interacting with the tongue.