benjamin lundberg torres sánchez

A Lengua for Mi Boca
Performance. (2016)

I hit PLAY on a tape recorder. I set a table in preparation for a meal. I ceremoniously display a covered plate to the public. I lift the veil, revealing a beef tongue. I butcher the fat from the end of the tongue. I practice stretching my mouth. I lift the beef tongue to my open mouth, salivating. I insert the tongue into my mouth. I press the tongue into my mouth and throat, deeply. I attempt to swallow the tongue for the remainder of the lesson. Overwhelmed by its size and force, I leave starved.

A Lengua for Mi Boca is a decolonial action in which I present myself as a willing student attempting to complete an assignment. Framed by an audio tape playing a Spanish language lesson, I attempt to swallow a beef tongue. The action is a contemplation of the role of submission within my colonized body, and of the violence of having to learn your colonizer’s tongue. By submitting to the tongue, an action that is both painful and pleasurable, I attempt to receive sustenance from the tongue.

Performance History:

Re Performed 5 November 2016
at Panoply Performance Laboratory
as part of Performancy Forum
curated by Esther Neff & PPL

Re Performed 8 October 2016
at 130 Central Avenue (Jersey City)
as part of the JC Art & Studio Tour

Performed 27 August 2016
at AS220
as part of DOGSTAR
organized by Neal Walsh