POWER CHANGES HANDS. THE BODY CHANGES USE.


POWER CHANGES HANDS. THE BODY CHANGES USE.

UNDER-THE-TABLE CLEANER

Performance / Installation

2026

Under-the-Table Cleaner treats the space beneath the table not as a place, but as a habit. The boxer, cheerleader, maid, stripper, caretaker, and master become shifting figures driven by imitation, repetition, and strain. They are not simply performed; they rub against one another, as power is constructed directly through the body. The relationship between contact, control, and obedience gradually becomes more exposed. The distinction between being above and below never remains fixed; these positions continually change hands. Power does not settle, and the relationship increasingly operates between obedience and pleasure. The losing body becomes available for use again precisely where it loses control.


What initially appears scattered and suppressed evolves into a living order—not a cleaned surface, but a system that is continuously dirtied and reopened. The same mouth is occupied with other tasks; something sticks to it, keeps rhythm, and it becomes unclear who is pushing whom. The one who uses is also the one being used. Cleaning never ends; it only changes direction.

Under-the-Table Cleaner treats the space beneath the table not as a place, but as a habit. The boxer, cheerleader, maid, stripper, caretaker, and master become shifting figures driven by imitation, repetition, and strain. They are not simply performed; they rub against one another, as power is constructed directly through the body. The relationship between contact, control, and obedience gradually becomes more exposed. The distinction between being above and below never remains fixed; these positions continually change hands. Power does not settle, and the relationship increasingly operates between obedience and pleasure. The losing body becomes available for use again precisely where it loses control.


What initially appears scattered and suppressed evolves into a living order—not a cleaned surface, but a system that is continuously dirtied and reopened. The same mouth is occupied with other tasks; something sticks to it, keeps rhythm, and it becomes unclear who is pushing whom. The one who uses is also the one being used. Cleaning never ends; it only changes direction.

CREDITS

Concept, Performance & Installation — Samet Sert

Movement Dramaturgy — M. Burak Dikilitaş

Sound Design — Gökhan Ön / Presto

Graphic Design — Çağla Sarı

Acrobatics Coach — Emre Saraç

Tailoring — Gönül Akıllı

Photography — Antre Sezgin

Videography — Berke Cem Sönmez