I would prefer not to

Violence takes many forms; where do you end and I begin?

If violence, in all its diversity, is everywhere—against minorities, marginalized groups, groups themselves (is constructing groups and the fleeting illusion of homogeneity not already a form of violence?), against animals, against the planet—the question arises: for which violence am I responsible? And: how can it be otherwise?

This is a performance, or rather, an essay, or perhaps an open question, about violence and complicity. It consists of edited field recordings, loops, drones, quotations, and text. An attempt; a search for a way to live, a way to live together. There is no place here for “feeling at home.” Let us, even as we relinquish the idea of an “us,” above all not feel at home. On the path to an elsewhere that has long been here.

The thoughts and reflections explored in this performance-essay draw from texts by Judith Butler, Mary Fulbrook, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Willem Schinkel, Oyèrónké Oyêwùmí, Sunaura Taylor, Cedric J. Robinson, and from the sound of babbling brooks and singing (or screaming?) birds.

"I would prefer not to."
- Bartleby