Performances Caroline Naslund doesn’t actually dare to perform. During January and February 2010, I performed at five different locations at five different times. What the performances had in common was that I had written and imagined them a long time ago, but never dared to perform them. In collaboration with Galleri Plastik, I finally got a chance to get them out of my system.
The first performance was Kvällsprocedur (Evening Procedure). I invited a bunch of people to my apartment, and while they drank, listened to music and socialized, I was in my kitchen slowly but surely filling the Galleri Plastik bag with food (both prepared and cooked on spot) and booze. When the plastic bag was almost full I emptied it in my kitchen sink, then cleaned it with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
The second performance was En romantisk afton med mig själv (A romantic evening with myself). In the gym at Västerås College, I dressed up in high heels, black dress, let my friend Fanny do the make-up, and then I worked out in between sips of wine and grapes, all while Barry White was playing in the background.
Penntestet (The Pen Test) was performed in a dark Nya Ateljén at Örebro Art College. I wrote the text below, which was screened on the wall behind me. Then I stripped my upper body of clothes. Then I stuffed pens in under my boobs until pens started falling to the floor.
Jag och min barndomsbästis Johanna var väl 12 ungefär när vi läste i Veckorevyn om hur man visste om man behövde BH eller inte. Dom kallade det för Penntestet: stoppa en penna under bröstet. Om pennan ramlar ner är du inte kvalificerad. Om den stannar är du det.
Välkommen till BH-klubben liksom.
(ENG: My best friend during my childhood, Johanna, and I were about 12 when we learned from Veckorevyn (Swedish girls magazine) how to know if we needed bras or not. They called it the Pen Test: put a pen under your boob. If the pen falls down you are not qualified. If it stays, you are.
Like, welcome to the bra-club.)
During the opening of Mellanmänsklig feminologik, I dared the visitors to a Cake Eating Competition. First to finish an 8-pieces Princess cake wins! Per Kopp, Örebro, agreed to get stuffed, and won a land-slide victory. Congratulations, Per!
Last but not least, there was Som det tänktes (As it was thought). The papers in the images above are the only documentation of that performance that I will show anyone. Below is the contract translated into English.
CONTRACT FOR “AS IT WAS THOUGHT”
CN and JH agrees to comply with and perform the following points when the work has started. Both parties understand that only the text documentation is free for of both parties to spread – all other documentation should be discussed after the work is completed.
Points:
1) CN will explain these points to JH
2) JH will read a text aloud from a computer screen
3) the reading will be recorded
4) when JH have started to read, the entire text must be read aloud by JH
5) CN will see and hear that point 2-4 is done correctly
5) when the reading is complete, CN and JH decide what happens to the sound file with the reading
[Signed] CN JH
Stockholm 2010-02-26
