Sörja Smörja Smörj (Mourn Anoint Punish)

Edsbruk Performance festival 2026

Three Swedish words that sound almost alike: sörja (to mourn), smörja (to anoint), smörj (a beating). I

sat on the floor inside a circle in an old damp factory, the props were laid out around it, and then I invited the audience to enter one at a time and choose a capsule. Inside were suggestions, not orders: to mourn with me by candlelight and quiet folk song, to anoint me and one another with oil while repeating the Latin words "ego te perungo", or to punish me with a birch rod.

When someone chose the rod, the rest of the audience banged on pots and pans to spur them on. When they felt finished, they rang a small bell and the next person came forward. I stayed until everyone had left.

Together with eight other artists I was invited by Alice Máselníková and through the project Flat Octopus. The performance festival took place in a village called Edsbruk in Småland and in and around an old factory hosted by Art&Factory. I am so thankful for this festival!