Poke / Papaya , 2020

Performed in March of 2020, Poke / Papaya explores my complex relationship with cultural identity and assimilation.

During the performance, the audience is asked to speak either poke or papaya. If the audience says poke, I hand-poke a segment of a tattoo design that reflects a tattoo from the northern region of the Philippines—the region my paternal ancestors are from. If the audience says papaya, I rub a papaya—a fruit known to have skin-lightening properties—onto my skin. Despite which word the audience speaks, I ultimately have the final decision of whether to tattoo or rub the papaya, sometimes doing the opposite of what is spoken. Though whenever I chose my own autonomy, the audience tended to speak the word louder until I obeyed. This iteration of the performance lasted about 7 minutes.