YO DE TI Y TÚ DE MÍ

In this performance, I am emulating my mother’s physically grueling routine as an attempt to live up to her strength. This leaves me with a feeling of unworthiness.

I venture to explore the means of production by empathetically placing myself in situations where my body is challenged, much like my mother’s body is every day. In honor of the co-dependent relationship I have with my mother, I created this labor-conducive performance.

The umbilical cord-like imagery and the full-body suits depict the direct dependency on one another. The tube allows for the users to share the same air being exhaled while performing labor, completely shutting the flow of oxygen and replacing it with the carbon dioxide of each individual. These limited factors constrict the body, making it harder to perform labor as the piece develops. The pushing of the boxes becomes more difficult as the need for air increases; each box weighing 150 pounds, forming a total of 300 pounds to show that each individual is equal to one another. The depiction of the lower class’s endless cycle, in which it struggles to survive, is brought to an end as the two figures pass out due to a lack of oxygen flowing to the brain.

Around twenty cycles are made to reach conclusion.