You Have a Voice
interactive performance
project authors and performers: Nika Batista, Urska Medved
April 2022, Ljubljana, Slovenia
created for the campaign ‘Let’s Vote’ by The Institute 8th of March (Institut 8. marec)




photo: Suncan Stone
The performance is based on the idea that every person has their own voice. The voice is one of the forms of expression through which we tell others our thoughts and feelings. In addition to the voice with which she or he expresses themself, a person also has a voice and the right to cast his voice in elections and/or referendums. Thus, the voice is not only a means of expression, it is the right to express oneself, it is the right to opinion and decision-making, and thus to co-shape the society in which we live and create.
The two authors stand next to each other. Dressed in long black dresses with white writing on them. The inscription is their voice, it is their message, their narrative. At the beginning of the performance, the inscription is invisible - covered with black tape, the purpose of which is for passers-by to peel it off and reveal part of the written thought. With this act, they symbolically discovers word by word - a suggestion of the importance of their voice. The tape also appears on their mouths, which are taped shut. Between them is a transparent ballot box, where a passer-by casts a torn tape - their vote (the action illustrates casting a vote). At the moment when the entire message written on the bodies is revealed, the author tears the tape from her mouth and speaks her (the one written on the dress) thought out loud. With this, they emphasizes the importance of the individual and their voice. The call to passers-by to act - the instruction - is shown on a white flag held by one of the authors with the inscription: "You have a voice. Peel it off and cast it." The call to the symbolic action of the elections and casting the vote indicates the importance of co-creating the story and narrative (in which we live).
The performance is feasible anywhere and easily repeatable in another location. Its duration depends on the participation of passers-by and their engagement in revealing the text on the bodies. It ends when the last of the authors says a revealed written thought.