FRANCIS
ST-GERMAIN
ST-GERMAIN
TOUCH
PARTICIPATORY PERFORMANCE FOR THERAPIST-PERFORMER, TRANSLATOR, AUDIOVISUAL DOCUMENTATION, CHAIR, AND CARPET
Credits
Performance & Conception - Francis St-Germain
Visual documentation - Dongbay (Yübo Xü)
Translation & Interpretation - Rajesh Kumar Kushwaha
Sound recording - Francis St-Germain
Developed at Last Ship Residency
The performance took place in two contrasting locations: near the Western Group of Temples, the city’s touristic and economic center, and within a nearby Adivasi community near Lalguan Road. The Adivasi are Indigenous tribal peoples of the region, many of whom travel daily to Khajuraho for temporary wage labor while living with limited access to basic infrastructure such as electricity and running water.
In both contexts, participants received private sessions in full public view, while the encounters were documented through photography, video, and sound recording. Visual documentation was conducted by Dongbay (Yübo Xü), while local interpretation and cultural mediation were provided by Rajesh Kumar Kushwaha. Additional environmental sound recordings were produced by the artist.
By bringing an intimate therapeutic practice into the public sphere, Touch questions the boundaries between private and collective space, care and performance, visibility and vulnerability. The work explores how touch — understood both physically and energetically — functions as a medium of connection across economic, cultural, and social differences, while foregrounding the ethics of encounter and the complex power dynamics inherent in cross-cultural exchange.
The performance took place on November 18 and 20, 2025, and was developed at Last Ship Residency.
Duration: 14 hours
Credits
Performance & Conception - Francis St-Germain
Visual documentation - Dongbay (Yübo Xü)
Translation & Interpretation - Rajesh Kumar Kushwaha
Sound recording - Francis St-Germain
Developed at Last Ship Residency
Photos by Dongbay
Photos by Julius Macwan
Photo by Francis St-Germain