Sonic Masturbation Workshop: Hysterical Paroxysm Choir

Workshop - 18+ and older - read below for FAQ with important details of this workshop

This workshop will explore masturbation with contact microphones in collective, in order to create a noise composition with the sound of our individual masturbation. Hysterical Paroxysm Choir is a theoretical and practical workshop derived from the artist's previous work "Sexotechnologies and Technofeminist Performativities." Here, the focus shifts toward creating a collective sound experiment: an exploration of our internal resonances, fluids, and pulsations, to hack the concept of hysteria through acts of sonic collective masturbation.

The workshop combines critical reflection and embodied practice, analyzing and reinterpreting performance works by women and feminist artists who engage with DIY and low-tech technologies. These practices are understood as decolonial and techno-feminist aesthetics, challenging the patriarchal structures embedded in conventional, normative, and privatized forms of technology.

Participants will be invited to explore their own bodily soundscapes through exercises of vocal, vibrational, and sensorial activation, culminating in a collective noise performance that celebrates hysteria, pleasure, and resonance as forms of resistance and creation.

About the Facilitator

NICOLORINA / Nicol Rivera, she/her (Chile) - Performance Artist, Dramaturg, and Researcher. She is an actress with a speciality in playwriting (Universidad de Valparaiso, 2015). Doctor in Philology at Leipzig University.. Using performative research methodologies, her work focuses on the relationship between the body and technological interfaces, delving into gender discourse and post-porn, with special attention given to sextechnologies and non-materialist approaches about the affection between bodies and devices.

What happens in this workshop?

We start with a short introduction to technofeminist performativities and DIY sound practices, based on my previous research around non-conventional sextechnologies and tech hacking. Then participants can explore masturbation with a contact microphone, inserted vaginally or anally and always covered with a condom. The sounds of all bodies together become one collective noise composition, where we will sound: alone, in groups and all together.

Is masturbation done together?
Masturbation is collective but separately and personal. The sound and the experience are shared by the group.

Can I join without masturbating?
Masturbation is required

Who can join?
Any person with vagina or asshole.

Is it safe and hygienic?
Microphones are always used with a condom. If someone wants to bring extra lube, they will be really welcome.

Will it be recorded?
Yes, the audio is recorded and shared with participants afterwards.