Touchy Topic: Durga Venkatesan’s powerful piece reiterates that body remembers inappropriate behaviour
Described as a durational performance, Durga Venkatesan-created ‘Touchy Topic’ is taking place at Shoonya on June 23, as part of Beru’s Janaru Art Festival
By Reema Gowalla
One by one, they walk up to the artist, dip their fingertip in a bowl of white paint and leave a mark on her body, as she stands motionless for 60 minutes. By doing this, they are finally acknowledging the trauma of an ‘inappropriate touch’. Theatre practitioner Durga Venkatesan’s compelling non-verbal experimental piece, titled Touchy Topic, encourages the spectator to open up and record their memory of ‘bad touch’ on the artist. The performance is set to be presented as part of Beru Art & Cultural Foundation’s two-day art festival Janaru, at Shoonya — Centre for Art and Somatic Practices on June 23.
Touchy Topic took shape during a workshop that Durga attended at Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre last year. It was facilitated by Mohammed Ellyas Lehry and supported by Thespo and the Norwegian Theatre Academy. Developed under the Tell Me Your Story section, ‘the purpose of the piece cannot be determined as what it ends up being for each is personal’. According to the artist, what we only know is that ‘the body remembers’. That said, the undertone of empathy and compassion cannot be ruled out here. Touchy Topic intends to go beyond fear, guilt, discomfort and painful evocation toward acceptance, healing and catharsis. The artist intends to encourage conversations around sexual harassment and while doing so, create a circle that is more humane and non-judgemental.
To begin with, Durga discloses her own account: ‘I remember my autorickshaw driver kissing my thigh when I was only about five years old. Many such touches are forgotten or are still being revisited every day because the body remembers. It’s not easy to talk about being harassed. So I, as an artist, stand for 60 minutes to share, witness and embody imprints of our collective experience of being touched inappropriately. The wish of the artist? To enable a brave space’. The upcoming show is supported by Kavya Karnatac and Lokesh Yadav.
In a chat with TheatreRoom, Durga spoke about how she prepared herself mentally and physically to perform Touchy Topic, the relevance of such art in today’s world and more. Excerpts:
Q. When did you first think of creating a performance like this? What was the thought process behind it?
A. It all began when I went to Bombay [Mumbai] to take part in a workshop at Prithvi Theatre. Organised by QTP as part of the annual Thespo Theatre Festival, the 10-day workshop encouraged participants to develop self-investigatory productions, meaning solo pieces that come from a place of one’s own truth, memories and feelings. Over the course of 10 days, I really wanted to work on the topic of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching. That’s because as a woman living in India, and especially coming from a place like Delhi, there’s always a baggage that I carry. It’s a fear that something wrong might happen to me. And to be honest, I have faced instances of sexual harassment at different points in time. So, I wanted to use this piece as a means to come out with my own story in a way, if I can put it like that, to express myself better and also to acknowledge that yes something horrible did happen to me, but I’m not supposed to be the one feeling guilty about it.
That is the space I wanted to create for other people as well, which is when this idea of recording their imprints and having them participate in this piece came up. The first performance happened at Prithvi Theatre in December 2023, and the response was great. People were really intrigued by the concept that there’s an artist who’s not performing in the sense that she’s not speaking dialogues or showing any motion for 60 minutes, and the fact that they get to choose if they want to put the imprints on me [the artist] and express themselves.
The piece is very simple — the artist stands still for an hour and the audience members are invited to touch her body using a white paint, in a way testifying to wherever they have been touched inappropriately in the past. Initially, it was put out as a 25-minute piece, but then I slowly trained myself to stay still for 60 minutes. The revised performance opened at Bengaluru’s Lahe Lahe in January 2024.
Q. You mentioned that the audience was really moved by Touchy Topic. How would you describe their experience?
A. The experience has been really cathartic for a lot of people. There are no conclusions regarding what people should feel about this piece, because what happens in the room is determined by the artist and that particular set of audience. Every time, the conclusion is different and that’s what makes this performance very exciting, because you can’t reverse these things. What happens one time will probably not happen in the next show. For instance, at Prithvi, I had around 50 paint marks on my body, whereas during the Lahe Lahe show, I only had some 12–13 marks. So, the imagery of each performance changes with the audience that enters the room.
Now, whether or not they want to say something while putting the print on my body is optional. It’s completely their choice if they want to talk about it or not. The only instruction is that you can put as many paint marks on my body as you want. For those 60 minutes, I’m giving you the consent to touch me, as an acknowledgement of what you have experienced in your life, but have so far not spoken about.
This time around, I’m also planning to keep a small notebook for people to write down their experience anonymously. And if they don’t want to write about it, they can also choose to draw, smudge or even tear the page. That notebook or diary will remain in that space.
Q. What do you mean when you call Touchy Topic a durational performance?
A. Honestly, I have just started exploring experimental theatre and these different forms, because I believe it’s high time I start dictating the form. I don’t intend to follow certain traditional definitions that have been provided to us. I want to create an experiment with my own form, and here I’m trying to explore that. For me, a durational performance is more about what happens in those 60 minutes; the people who participate in those 60 minutes make it a durational performance. It is the interplay of the artist, the artist’s body, the time and the people.
Q. For a show to be immersive or interactive is one thing, but to allow members of the audience to come and touch your body seems like an act of conviction and courage. How did you internalise and prepare for it?
A. Frankly speaking, I did worry a lot about how this will impact me personally. What will happen to my mental health if I just put myself out there to be touched. But then, surprisingly after the first few shows, I actually felt quite light. I got over the fear, in a sense that although you feel like you don’t have control over what’s happening, the artist does have control over her body because she has the consent to be touched. So, the aspect of ‘giving consent’ gave me the courage and power at the psychological level to take this forward. Speaking of the physical state, I think it’s different for each person. For me, I tried to focus more on grounding — on training my mind more than my body.
Q. What’s the takeaway from this performance?
A. What I really want to reiterate, emphasise on or tell people is that the body remembers. Even though you might have shelved it somewhere deep, the body does remember what it has gone through. And it’s high time that you give yourself and your body the benefit that you chose to express that something had happened. But you or your body is not to be blamed for that horrible experience. It’s a fact that your body will hold the memory, but it should be done with a sense of acknowledgement and acceptance. Many people face confidence issues when something like this happens to them. So since they find it difficult to talk about it, this piece provides them the space to express themselves, in a non-verbal fashion.
Many in the audience have also found Touchy Topic to be an eye-opening performance, where in a room of 15 people, 10 came forward and placed a paint mark on me. They were shocked to see 80% of the people stood up to convey that such things did happen to them. Therefore, this show is not just intended for those who have been through such experiences. I want to have the conversation around inappropriate touching normalised, so that even if you have not been through it, you know how to acknowledge the fact that somebody has gone through it.
Catch the upcoming show of Touchy Topic at Shoonya — Centre for Art and Somatic Practices on June 23 (7pm onwards), as part of Beru’s Janaru Festival. You can book your tickets here.
