And What Did You Say?: Artist Talk
Join artist Taus Makhacheva for a conversation at 4pm, between the two performances of And What Did You Say? (2026).
Presented by the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates as part of Alserkal Art Week, the performance was originally conceived for Washwasha, the UAE's exhibition at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The conversation offers insight into the work as it finds a new context at Alserkal Avenue.
In And What Did You Say?, Taus Makhacheva approaches gossip with an inquisitiveness on its potentiality, ruminating over the idea of "metabolizing gossip," i.e. turning it into movement and speech. The work consists of a durational performance, as well as this bench before you, which houses its ephemera. The opening compartments include props and costumes designed for the performance, taking place during Biennale Danza 2026, the 20th International Festival of Contemporary Dance. The headphones play dialogues that move from inner monologues to scripted conversations, and into narrated commentary on gossip's historical and contemporary uses and consequences.
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The choreographed dance includes three performers, each representing and embodying a different stage of gossip: the source, the spread, and finally, the result of gossip. Taken together, this two-part work explores the multiple utilities of gossip, some of which include care and allyship, horizontal knowledge sharing, coping strategies, political commentary, and gatekeeping and harm.