SALIVAM

2018

Salivam is a twin performance video installation presented as part of the larger Salivam body of work. The videos adopt the aesthetic of clinical testing, with the artist conducting speculative “trials” using proteolytic enzymes derived from her own saliva. In one video, an anti-aging cream formulated from these extracted enzymes is tested on the artist’s skin; in the other, the artist performs a sustained act of licking another woman’s face. These parallel actions collapse distinctions between scientific procedure and intimate contact, reframing saliva as both biochemical agent and medium of exchange. Subtitled with creative text that mimics and exaggerates the language of beauty marketing, the work critiques the misogynistic tactics embedded in cosmetic industries.