Public Restroom

Procedure
I set up a public restroom in a cage constructed of steele mesh.
In the “room” inside the cage I build a portable toilet and place a camping shower, bathtub, dressing table, mirror, two towels, two bowls with water and a jug. Every time I visit the restroom, I carry my sponge bag with me. In the restroom I do what is normally done there: Taking a shower, brushing teeth and going to the toilet. I also shave my legs, armpits and part of my pubic hair, apply make-up and get dressed f.i. for dinner.  All the while the audience is watching me. Other performers are using the restroom for intimate activities such as pubic hair epilation. As the action itself is covered by a big sheet, the audience can see the reaction in the face of the girl in treatment. Some People enter the restroom when the sign is on “libre”.

Concept
Where are my personal limits? Exposing myself is a part of my job as a performance artist. But when does it hurt? When I decide to show my naked body in my performance art, I can treat it as a tool by choosing specific “artistic” actions.  Intimate actions like going to the toilet, washing myself and other personal hygiene, make me feel that there is no possibility to slip into a mask while presenting myself to the public.
I feel vulnerable and am confronted with my complexes and discontent regarding my physical appearance f.i. those generated by age and being overweight. It's a challenge to take care of personal hygiene as quietly and reverently as usual. At a young age this performance never would have been the same. Shame takes the place of pleasurable exhibitionism.
The young girls performing activities of personal hygiene in the same environment are even more confronted with sexual voyeurism and the erotic projections of the audience.
To deal with my feelings and the issue of accepting physical failures I create the work “No-Go”.