LOCUST (DISSONANCE) (2013)
in collaboration with Johee Kim, Fernanda Estevao Pollini and Gabriela Stoica
Istituto Romeno di Cultura e Ricerca Umanistica di Venezia June 2013
This performance was inspired by Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance (1957), which describes the tension that arises when one’s actions and beliefs conflict, and the effort to restore balance by finding justification. The work also referenced Zimbardo’s 1969 “locust experiment,” where participants who were asked by an unpleasant experimenter to eat fried insects ended up convincing themselves the food was better than expected—an act of self-persuasion to reduce dissonance.
The performance, created collaboratively by four performers, embodied immigrant women (badanti) who care for elderly people in Italy. Around them, large drawings of locusts were displayed, recalling the psychological experiment and its unsettling atmosphere. Throughout the piece, the experiences of the badanti as well as those of other African and Asian immigrants working as street vendors were discussed —revealing layers of labor, identity, and social perception.
An audience member participated by attempting to clean a shirt stained with acrylic paint—an impossible task. At the end, they were asked whether they found the action degrading, boring, or enjoyable. This simple act mirrored the mechanism of cognitive dissonance, confronting the participant with effort, futility, and the need to justify their feelings. The performance became a live experiment in discomfort, empathy, and the search for meaning within repetitive or undervalued work.
