What It's Really Like To Let People Finger You In Public - Cosmopolitan

Milo Moiré, a Swiss artist and psychologist, has been performing controversial nude public art for years. In 2014, she rode a bus naked (painted with names of clothing items where they are supposed to go on a body) during Art Basel in Switzerland and stood naked outside an art museum in Cologne, Germany painting a white sheet red with paint-filled eggs stashed inside her vagina.

 Most recently, she paid homage to Valie Export's 1960s nudist work and asked people in London, Düsseldorf, and Amsterdam to touch her breasts and vagina, which were concealed in a large mirrored box with a hole in the middle. She recorded the interactions, and released a highly censored (yet still pretty NSFW) video of her being touched. Moiré spoke to Cosmopolitan.com about what it was like to have strangers finger her, the ground rules she laid for those who did, and why she'd rather not have the performance labeled as a feminist piece of art. 

Note: There are some NSFW pictures below.

You stood outside naked in Cologne earlier this year as a response to the horrific coordinated attacks where hundreds of women were sexually assaulted on New Year's Eve. Was there a specific event that prompted "Mirror Box?"

Yes, this performance was [also] based on the Cologne attacks, and the discussion about respect toward women. I decided to go one step further and show a woman can decide when and if she wants to be touched. There's always a picture that women are victims. For me, that's not powerful. When you show that a woman has a voice when it comes to sexuality and has rights, I think it's a better way to show that women are not only victims. [Mirror Box] is a better way to show that women are strong when they talk about sexuality, and not only victims.

"Mirror Box" is a societal reflection of human sexuality, that's why I decided to make [the box mirrored]. Before a person came to me to interact, they had to confront all the people around us and the reflections visible in the mirror. 

What were people's first reactions when you began announcing into a megaphone that they could come touch you?

Woman and men made big eyes. [Laughs.] [At] first, they waited, really curious to see what would happen, if somebody would come to me or not. A lot of women also were standing there from the beginning until the end, especially when I did it with the vagina. [In Düsseldorf, Moiré only performed with a breast Mirror Box. In the other two cities, she used two, one covering her breasts and another over her vagina.]. Most women seemed eager and amazed to me.

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Were you expecting so many people to touch you?

No. When I perform, I never expect anything. I let it happen. When I did this Mirror Box with the vagina, there were two women who touched me in the box. With the breasts, maybe 40 percent of the people who touched [me] were women.

How did it feel to have strangers touch you like that?

Before I try my idea, I try to think about everything that maybe will happen so I can be calm. When I perform, I try to showcase the issue, to show female desire and that I enjoy or maybe [don't enjoy it], depending on what I'm doing. I tried to be authentic with my facial expressions to show when I had pleasure or not. Before I perform, I am very nervous. But in the moment, I feel strong and powerful because I am sure that what I do is, for me, right.

It's important you say people need to know whether you're enjoying it or not. Did you at any point feel uncomfortable or want to stop?

Yeah. I also gave people some rules. When they touch my vagina, I say, "You have 30 seconds — you have to look into my eyes. [We can] only talk about the feedback I give you, if I like it and enjoy it, and your feedback." That was important to me, [for people] to be aware of what we were doing. So yeah, maybe some men were a bit stronger with the hands, some maybe put more fingers in my vagina, but I never had a moment where I was thinking, It's not comfortable, or, It's too much. The people who were a bit shy were really respectful.

Were there differences in the ways people touched you in different cities? For example, were people in London more reserved than those in Amsterdam?

The big difference was with the breast or vagina [Mirror Box]. The vagina, not so many people had the courage to [touch] it. When I did it with the breasts, there were a lot of people. It was a big range of people. In Amsterdam, the people are freer than in England because in the Netherlands, they have an [understanding] of sexuality, that it's a natural thing and it's normal. In England, it was a bit more strict, yes, and the people were not so free. 

You were actually arrested in London. What was the charge?

I had to pay a 1,300 Euro fine and the cops said what I've done is not art. A cop didn't understand what I was doing there.

Moiré getting arrested in London.

So he arrested you because he didn't understand?

Yes! In Amsterdam, there were also police — at the end of my performance, they came and asked me what I did, and I explained. They had to check with their chief officer and explain to him what happened. The chief said, "No, it's OK, it's no problem," but that I had used a megaphone that was a bit noisy. So people who lived there felt disturbed because of the noise. It was a big difference between Amsterdam and London.

Were you expecting you'd get arrested?

I perform in public, so I knew in England, this is normally not allowed, but I hoped that they'd see it as artistic freedom. I was also arrested this past year in June in Paris because I did another performance called "Naked Selfies." I was naked and took selfies with passersby. I also had to spend some hours in a cell, but then they said, "No, this is artistic freedom, you can go." There's always a risk, but I am willing to take this risk because I think my purpose [as an artist] is too important to be feared and, in the end, I see more hope than fear doing my performances.

Moiré during her 'Naked Selfies' performance in Paris.

What was the most surprising feedback that you got from someone during the performance?

That's very intimate [Laughs.], but I think it's better for society when we don't have so many taboos, and that's why I have a camera inside the Mirror Box, to show everything and to talk about it. So I'll tell you. A young guy told me, "Oh, you became moist, you became wet," and I said, "Oh, OK." A lot of female sexuality is subconscious. I was a little bit surprised he said that because I hadn't realized, but it was OK because I want to show that it's a normal thing.

Did anyone ask you out on a date while touching you?

No. The thing is, I have a boyfriend. We [have been] together for 11 years and he is a photographer, so he's always by my side when I perform. The people were, I think, a little bit nervous, and only focused on the performance or touching me or giving me feedback. So they didn't ask me in that moment anything like that. 

What are you hoping people will take away from the piece, whether they participated in it or just stood there just watching? 

I hope that they in the end have respect toward women and that it's OK if I want to have sex and that we are equal partners. I want to say that I'm not a feminist, I see myself as humanist because I think my performances and my messages are for both women and men. 

I was so surprised because I know that my performances polarize people, but many, many women got my message. A lot women and men showed me support by commenting on my video on my YouTube channel, telling me it was courageous and a strong image of female determination. They liked my performance as an important "social experiment" and loved the message. I didn't expect that because this was my heaviest performance and so intimate. 

But there are also people who see the opposite in my performance. [I got] negative comments like "bitch," "whore," "dumb," and other [abuse]. Some self-proclaimed feminist told me that my performance made women objects and that it was not art, that it was pornography. It's always like that.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Tess KomanDigital Director

Tess Koman covers breaking (food) news, opinion pieces, and features on larger happenings in the food world. She oversees editorial content on Delish. Her work has appeared on Cosmopolitan.com, Elle.com, and Esquire.com.