Care Laboratory, on the one hand, consists of a spatial, lighting, and sound intervention in the bathroom of the house where I lived for over 10 years in San Juan de Tibás, Costa Rica, as part of the first Casa MA in 2018.

The lights were controlled by a robotic system to oscillate with an organic rhythm in sync with the sound composition, which incorporated bodily sounds (heartbeat, bowel sounds, breathing sounds, among others).

In addition, sounds and noises produced in the daily use of the intervened space (the bathroom) were included, with the intention of delving deeper into self-care and exploring how the sounds, lights, objects, and textures that arise from the time-space of self-care modify it and create care laboratories—that is, emotional spaces.

The sound composition created exclusively for this project was a collaboration with composer Elena Zúñiga.

In parallel, the Care Lab project gave rise to a collective action centered on rethinking and discussing the potential of personal acts, their expansive capacity, and their socio-political reach. The action focused on fostering spaces and symbolic gestures of solidarity and shared care.

The performance involved inviting a group of people to provide care through the committed and conscious act of washing their faces and applying a soothing face mask. Those invited then invited others to replicate the action. This process fostered an intimate space where the experience was shared and discussed.

The Care Lab performance was first held at Casa MA in 2018. It was later performed in the Chinatown of San José, Costa Rica, as part of International Migrants Day. This second time, the action was adapted in response to the 24 femicides recorded during 2019. It was carried out by migrant women as a call for sisterhood and mutual support, regardless of country of origin or immigration status.

Personal acts can be hyperpolitical and significant expressions of resistance. Acts that foster self-knowledge, pleasure, and nurturing our network of affection offer a way to rethink the power of the private sphere and a way of being in the world, transforming it, and transforming ourselves.