Feeding/Eating the Other

Entrails , first performed in 2016, is a performance that explores power, identity, and erasure through ritualized consumption. Morad Hassan delivers a biographical monologue while being fed cooked lamb organs by a second performer, who assumes a position of control by preparing and administering the food. As the performance progresses, Hassan’s repeated narrative diminishes in detail, reducing his identity to that of an anonymous, passive citizen. This transformation reflects a broader commentary on authority and assimilation, as the act of feeding becomes a mechanism of power that dictates not only bodily sustenance but also the erosion of personal history. The performance culminates in the disappearance of both narrative and material substance, as Hassan’s final words are replaced by a quote from Robert Walser’s Basta! , underscoring themes of submission and identity dissolution. The following essay is built around the seven biographic turns of Morad’s text in the performance. It tells the story of what was left out, what was kept silent, and what emerged as a result of the performance. The seven sections of the essay point to the decision-making process underlying various elements of the performance, and the sections are interlaced with layered sets of questions and potential interpretations that emerge from the relations between Morad and the author.