Amitis Motevalli, Love Letters to Jeremy / Let Them Eat Yellowcake,* 2011. Sound, 12:00

This performance video was conceived in two parts to be shown simultaneously in Iran and outside Iran:

In Part I, I am on the outside of a window looking in. I steam the window with my breath and write words backward onto the glass, English words such as on-the-edge and tee-ter, that indicate a position that does not fit-in or conform to a standard. As each word sequence begins to fade, I wipe it with my hand and blow onto the window to write again. With each word, I become light-headed due to the heavy breathing.

In Part II, I perform inside the café looking out. I write backward in Farsi with whipped cream onto the window in order to communicate with the outside. The words that I write play with language and have multiple meanings. After each word is written, I lick the cream off of the window. With this set of words, I maintain a certainty and awareness.

Words with specific connotations are used to engage the viewers and place them either inside or outside the window. When writing Farsi, I am inside, you are out. When writing English, I am outside, you are in. Regardless of position, context, and environment, I initiate a dialogue; in Part I, it leaves me breathless, in Part II, it nourishes me.

   * Yellowcake is slang for Uranium.