Worth of Service is an intimate one on one performance treating people to a cleansing encounter. Together the performer and participant discuss times when they’ve done a kind act for someone else, what provoked such an act and how it was received, considering the motivation behind labours that receive no monetary compensation - all taking place while the performer is giving the participant a foot wash. The encounter culminates with the participant’s wet feet being dried with the performer’s hair and the participant being asked to write down a service that they might provide in return for the performance - it can be anything that they think is of equal value, but cannot be money. The suggestion is hypothetical, they are not required to provide the suggested service, but all suggestions are collected on a board which is on display.
The act of foot washing is an ancient practice of welcoming honoured guests into the home, with instances of this featuring in the Bible, Homer’s Odyssey and many more. This performance is open to all, welcoming in anyone from the public into that position of honoured guest, in full display of the rest of the surrounding public.
The piece puts into question what motivates us into acts of service, and makes us think about how we value other people, as well as ourselves, and what they have to offer outside of an economic scale.
Here are some of the audience's answers, when asked hypothetically what they would give in exchange for the performance:
