Stewart developed the durational performance cat got your tongue after getting diagnosed with an auto-immune disease that affected her mobility. The core action in the performance is straightforward; she chews gum while walking on a desk treadmill. Once flavorless, she sticks the chewed gum underneath her sneaker and places a new piece of gum into her mouth. After chewing and sticking hundreds of pieces of gum to the treadmill, the sticky material overrides the power of the electronic machine and renders it an immovable sculpture.

In this performance, she tests the limits of her own body and the machine, pushing against the expectation that productivity should be optimized and continuous. cat got your tongue ultimately presents Stewart's refusal of efficiency.

Presented in a grammar of attention

The Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program Curatorial Exhibition

Curated by Ntshadi Mofokeng, Kennedy Jones, Tamara Khasanova, and Beatriz Ortega Botas