Heart & the Gutting was basically a one-night show that created itself as I worked on it for about seven months (205 days). The exhibition took place on January 15, 2008 at the Sultan Gallery. It consisted of one installation: 205 brown paper bags, labeled with a date and chronologically placed on a grid, and a wall with a corkboard. These bags served as a diary for me, something that no one would see (I decided about a month before the show that these bags should be ‘gutted’.). I wanted the contents of the bags to be raw and uncensored, totally honest and unselfconscious. Each bag contained a note to my imaginary confidant, Thomas, and a ‘work of art’. In those seven tortuous months, I felt a need to leave my body and have others occupy it. It was my way of coping with my life at the time. It was also important to me that the visitors would come in and participate. That they would be doing the gutting, hence becoming part of the whole experience. The event was filmed twice: one day before, on January 14th, when I was filmed opening every single bag (this film was shown during the exhibition) and the day of the show.