"What have I done to you?" - PARTIZIPATIV

/ zeitraumexit @ T6/18 / Interactive Performance / no spoken language / no age restriction / 

Please note when booking: there are two types of tickets available.

All those who would like to actively participate in the performance, please select the “partizipativ” ticket option. Visitors who only wish to watch please select the “Zuschauer*in” option.

“What have I done to you?” is an interactive performance by artist Baptist Coelho that explores the mechanisms of war and subjugation. Dressed in a British Army camouflage uniform, the artist washes and wipes the feet of individual participants as they record their thoughts, emotions, and personal details—such as name, date, time, location, and temperature—on paper. Afterwards, they may quietly join the audience to observe others. Entering or exiting the venue is allowed at any time. This intimate act becomes both symbolic and archival, preserving traces of how conflict inscribes itself onto personal and collective memory.

Washing feet carries multiple connotations—care, humility, reverence, dominance, and resistance. In India, touching the feet of elders signifies respect; in other traditions, feet are viewed as impure, requiring ritual cleansing before entering sacred spaces. The title references Christ’s words to his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion, when he washed their feet—including that of his betrayer—and asked them to do the same.

The work reflects on the role of Indian soldiers who fought for the British Army during the World Wars, showing steadfast loyalty even as they were used as cannon fodder—sacrificed in large numbers and written out of dominant narratives. Their subaltern status denied them voice or agency, though they remained essential to the war effort. Coelho’s silent presence provokes varied emotional responses—curiosity, discomfort, fear, reflection—mirroring the psychological strains of military rule and colonial domination.
By shifting roles between washer and washed, the performance unsettles fixed ideas of power and vulnerability. Participants, exposed and attentive, enter a shared space of inquiry into the enduring legacies of war. The work critiques the socio-political structures shaping narratives of dominance and submission, particularly in India’s colonial histories.

Baptist Coelho explores unspoken stories shaped by war and conflict through diverse media. He has exhibited, performed, and screened at museums and galleries worldwide. Baptist has received awards and participated in residencies across Asia, Europe, the UK, and Australia. Born in Mumbai, India, he currently lives and works between Paris and Ypres. www.baptistcoelho.com

Photos: Miranda Sharp; Pump House Gallery, London; Delfina Foundation, London