In collaboration with OBORO

In an era of accelerating digital systems and an increasingly polarised socio-political climate, a need for encounter, community and connection seems to be emerging. Gentleness, slowness, and attentive listening can thus act as poetic and social drivers of resistance in the face of capitalist performativity supported by surveillance structures. At the whim of our permeable bodies follows this dynamic by offering a relational and performative experiment around the ritual of tea. The performance begins with the installation of a large table around which the audience is invited to share tea and biscuits. The artist initiates conversations on contemporary issues related to technology and intersectional feminism. Open-ended questions to guests aim to create a safe and sensitive space, leaving room for participants’ feelings. In this sense, the work aims to appease fears related to technology while affirming the political power of intimate spaces. A performative and installation-based constraint will also require that used tableware be left on the table for the duration of the event. This accumulation becomes both a tangible trace of the guests’ passage and a metaphor for the uncontrolled collection of personal data. In addition, a web page documenting quotes selected from discussions during the event will act as an extension of the project, notably through a computer system that the public will be able to consult after the tea gatherings, in other dedicated spaces.