FREE LUNCH

(OSLO 2016)



Performance for Lunchbox, a series of discursive lunches curated by Sofie Amalie Anderson. 

On my way to the lunch during which I was supposed to do a performance (and for which I was completely unprepared), I encountered a homeless man. I walked past him, then stopped. Perhaps his presence in the white cube would perturb the homogeneous public enough to create a malaise that might be just the sort of spontaneous performance that I had been hoping for.

I blushed, ashamed for wanting to displaying him like a circus animal and continued towards school before stopping short again. Was I now denying him a warm meal out of embarrassment for my ulterior motive? I turned around and invited him to lunch. We walked in silence to the thankfully empty white cube where he ate and left before the public arrived. 

The hungry art students helped themselves to the vegetable stew and started to gather in groups, chatting among themselves. They were here for the free lunch, performance or not. I started to recount the encounter with the man, flinging and smearing the stew on the floor, using it to illustrate my ethical dilemma and pretend that this had been my plan all along.