Cry Baby is a live performance and installation that confronts and presents my own personal relationship to shame. The work both boldly reclaims the moniker "cry baby" as a form of empowerment, while simultaneously making visible the feelings of being trapped in an unending shame spiral. 

 

Dressed in clown makeup, a handmade sequins dress, and tulle collar, I sing a karaoke-style cover of Janis Joplin's Cry Baby (1970) alongside a bootlegged instrumental backing. The song continues on repeat numerous times as I engage with the audience who are unaware when the repeated song will end.

 

In addition to the stage, the installation features two sculptures embedded with electronics and sounds from my personal archive: an alarm clock from my childhood and an audio recording of an emergency alarm from an old workplace.