Care Performance,
Live Performance with Hospital Bed and Participants, 2019

Care is a performance work in which the artist places a participant on a hospital bed, highlighting the nuanced negotiation between carer and care receiver. The hospital bed, a central tool in medical care, serves as a symbol of crisis, assessment, rest, and healing.

In the performance, the artist removes the participant’s shoes, lifts their legs onto the bed, covers them with hospital sheets, and secures the side railings. The bed is then raised to its highest point—a gesture echoing the routines of repositioning, toileting, or providing comfort in medical contexts. Once the participant is settled, the artist lowers the railing and holds the participant for as long as they wish.

This intimate action opens conversations about the distinctions between institutional and informal care. Institutional care is characterized by clinical routines and focus on the body’s functionality, while informal care is rooted in personal knowledge, touch, and emotional intimacy. Both forms depend on communication and the availability of support.

By holding and comforting the participant, the artist reimagines the hospital space as one of emotional care, emphasizing the power of touch and connection. The work invites viewers to reflect on how we care for bodies within the boundaries of medical systems and to consider the possibilities for more compassionate, heart-centred forms of care.