Fullbright Scholar Yasmine Espert shares her thoughts on the Fresh Milk II event:

Performance Art @ Fresh Milk II
St. George, BARBADOS.

This is Sandra Vivas. And believe it or not, this (was) performance art. The only thing missing from this image is the elegy she belted out as she bathed herself in fresh, uncooked eggs.

I tried to put the protein aside and focus on the poem she laced with resentment but…

1. I was confounded by the use of eggs. During the performance, I kept asking myself: is she really going to use the whole dozen?

2. She chose to speak in Spanish. I was able to grasp a line here and there (thank you high school/college español), but for the most part, I was lost between her garbled words and the occasional egg yolk that landed in her mouth.

Did she plan this? Why aim for the grotesque?

Vivas’ performance did result in a few chuckles from the audience. I’m not sure if that was her intention — but I am sure that she got my attention. Later that night I came across an English translation of her piece. Like many of her works, it gave a fascinating, albeit bizarre, unveiling of the issues women face today (take a look at her YouTube page for more)

Leandro Soto, a contemporary Cuban performance artist (aka “the first performance artist de Cuba) told me that performance art is about the now…”you never choreograph. You always trust in the moment.”

No matter what your (political) message is, you have to confide in improvisation. Even if it means you have to bathe in raw eggs.

Imagine if we all approached life that way.