The term "freedom" carries delicate implications. While freedom is fundamental to human existence, in pseudo-democratic societies, it often coexists with self-imposed enclosures—a self-censored confinement frequently mistaken for security. This paradox exists in the space between Rousseau's social contract and Enlightenment theory.

In exploring the notion of self-imposed enclosures, I examine a fabricated sense of security and a mindset shaped by social conditioning. This performance seeks to scrutinize and disrupt our tendency towards voluntary confinement.

The Performance Act

Part I
A life-sized cylindrical enclosure takes center stage, concealing four individuals, each facing a cardinal direction. Outside the cylinder, I invite two audience members to choose a side—right or left. The left side is tasked with posing three questions unrelated to the current performance, while the right side's questions must pertain only to the performance.

The audience members write down their questions and affix them to their respective sides of the cylinder.

Part II
The space fills with audio, featuring my voice narrating a blend of prose and verse, intertwining stories and scientific inquiries. Throughout the performance, I connect the black cylinder to the surrounding walls through various objects and actions. The audience, forming the fourth wall, becomes part of the spectacle, absorbed in their own thoughts.

In a theatrical gesture, body parts gradually emerge from the seemingly void cylinder: knees from the north, an elbow from the east, a pointing hand from the west, and a head from the south. Audience questions are directed at these body parts, and each unanswered tap is met with a stroke of blue paint. Impressions of the body parts are then transferred onto paper and hung on the opposite wall. This process repeats for the elbow, with a drawing symbolizing their convergence. The pointing finger to the west is painted blue, and a circular crocheted form is mounted on the opposite wall, connected by a yarn string. As the finger pulls the yarn, the crocheted circle unravels, mirroring the drawing of a growing circle responding to diminishing mass.

Part III
At the south end, a female head emerges from the enclosure. I paint the face, unravel the hair, and attach extensions. The audio then poses questions about liberty, beauty, and art, culminating in a single repeated question directed at the head: "How would you contemplate the love of a mother who has gone wild?"

Here, the mother symbolizes the nation, the land, and the earth.