Tongueday

Directed by Jon Richter with Christina Scheib

TONGUEDAY explores the different dimensions of this bizarre human and animal organ. With over 10,000 taste buds, the tongue is a fantastic tool. It is also the subject of colloquialisms such as ‘hold your tongue!’ or ‘tongue in cheek’. In various ways, the tongue produces difference and sometimes appears to have a life of its own – a life that has the ability to question and express authority. To tear out the tongue is the most radical means of power against freedom of speech. Basing his lecture on philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s distinction between humour and irony as methods for subverting the rule of law, Richter conducts a session of talks and exercises that aim to loosen our tongues, so they can play their part in the metabolic concert of the organs.