SARA NIROO

The following is the documentation for my most recent performance which happened at a performance art venue at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago while my body crystallized In a terracotta pot holding hot saturated sodium borate liquid and saffron. I experienced each stage of interaction with the material differently. When the substance got in touch with my skin, it felt rough and hot; after 30 minutes, a thick covering of crystals began to form on my skin; an hour later, the real fight began: skin burn and extreme discomfort throughout my head and body. After two hours of agony and pain that I remained firm and stable inside the vessel, the substance stimulated my skin and gradually created dendritic crystals. At the conclusion of the event, The vessel was smashed with a hammer, the liquid was released, and my crystalline body emerged. During this creative process, when I felt crystals forming on my skin, I realized the parallel to the tiny cancer cell growth that ravaged my mother's body for eight years. For the first time in my life, I was able to view cancer/death as something that transferred her suffering body to a more valuable thing, something akin to an underground treasure that does not digest or dissolve but rather reproduces in another form under extreme heat and pressure; where molecules form strong covalent bonds and begin growing crystals.