El peso de la culpa (The Burden of Guilt) is a symbolic recreation of the collective suicide which, according to legend, was committed by the Indian populations after the Spaniards reduced them to slavery following the conquest of Cuba. This performance was presented for the first time in the artist's home in Havana in May 1997 and subsequently 'repeated' in many events abroad. Dressed in a sheep's carcass, the artist mixes earth, salt and water in her hand to form little balls which she then puts in her mouth. 'Comer terra' (eating earth) is an idiomatic Cuban expression used in desperate situations for which there no way out. Recreating this ancient legend is also a means of speaking about the social and political context in Cuba today, and more generally, relationships of power and domination.

Etienne Sandrin
Translation: Miriam Rosen