Pick the color of my tears
MuseumsQuartier 2021

Pick the color of my tears gives each participant private access to the live performance of crying. An actress is hired to authentically cry, over and over again, embodying a different trigger each time. The viewer gets to customize her tears, according to their own desires and limits. Throughout the performance the spectator stays invisible and anonymous.

We staged this private show of tears to discover a range of human responses to the display of weakness. The incredible distance or closeness between spectator and performer is just a matter of synchronization of roles. Crying can ultimately materialize only in the presence of a voyeur, be it internal or external.

Pick the color of my tears is the first in a series of post-pandemic anti-romantic reflections and is the result of the Ioana Păun’s residence at Q21, supported by tranzit.at, ERSTE Foundation and the Romanian Cultural Institute.

Performed by Bianca Pintea, Conceived by Ioana Păun