An iniciación is a moment which allows a person to gain certain knowledge or esoteric teaching, to confront oneself with death and rebirth. “Iniciación” was the last iteration of my project “Ejercicios para cultivar voluntad” in which I practiced rituals to generate willpower.

The performance action was simple: I laid at the bottom of a burial pit for several minutes to feel the earth and my present state. This worked as a ritual for facing change, struggle, and the desire to evolve. I chose to do this piece at a real graveyard to not only integrate myself with the spirits and become a force of other realms but to claim life as my own. My body reacted deeply to being at the bottom of the burial pit and I ended up shaking nonstop for several minutes. After emerging from the pit I went to ‘Un cuarto’ where the performance action was being exhibited via livestream. Upon arriving I removed my graveyard stained white clothes to leave them as a kind of sculpture for the audience. To finish the performance I then put on the exact same clothes, the only difference being that instead of being white they were black.