At the end of April 2021, we launched our exhibition SAYING IS DOING, as part of our campaign Love Speech. The exhibition explores the connection between words and actions in a new series of works by the artist Vitto Valentinov. The exhibition consists of various objects, which visitors can interact with, to learn more about the effects of hate speech. 

"Words are actions. And actions always have consequences. These consequences are often physical. Language is a verbal tool, but the consequences can go beyond the verbal,” says Vitto Valentinov.

The artist was inspired by the book How To Do Things With Words by the English philosopher John Austin, according to which "saying something is doing something". Austin problematizes the age-old assumption in philosophy that saying something is always and only just a statement of something.

In this project, Vitto Valentinov makes a similar connection between verbal acts and actions. Hundreds of thousands of people in Bulgaria are the constant target of verbal attacks and hate speech. Such words are not just opinions or comments, but acts of violence. In his artistic practice, Valentinov works with performance installations and that’s why it is no coincidence that he chooses to present hate speech through the real movements of physical objects in the exhibition space. Utilizing examples from mechanics, he creates minimalist "performative" objects as analogies for causal relationships. Valentinov believes that through physical participation and experiences, visitors can be emotionally engaged with the subject.

The objects in the exhibition are examples of actions-consequences. Within the space, they are static, but with an initial push they can be activated and demonstrate various causal relationships.

Photos & video: Mihail Novakov

With a small and harmless action, we can create damage on an unexpected scale – similarly to online hatred, where a comment can inflict serious damage to the "real" lives of thousands of people.

Research supports the claim that hate speech causes deep "wounds" both to our society and on a personal level. Hate speech has been shown to have a "dehumanizing effect", reducing society's empathy toward other people's pain.

This popular experiment is a dramatic demonstration of exponential growth, as in a nuclear chain reaction. One domino tile can knock down another that is about 1.5 times larger than it. Since the gravitational potential energy of an upright domino is proportional to the fourth power of its size, a very small amount of force exerted on the first domino can be multiplied, and as a result knock down an impressively large domino tile.

About 0.024 µJ of input energy is needed to knock down the first domino, which is approximately equal to the force that a falling feather exerts on the ground. On the other hand, the 13th domino tile releases about 51 J of energy when it falls – that is, the input energy is amplified about 2 billion times. A simple calculation shows that if the series continues, the 32nd domino tile would be about the size of the Empire State Building.

From an early age, many children have been brought up through games and skills so they can compete with others. Using a number of methods, they are taught that the main way to win is through a demonstration of physical strength.

This pattern of behavior lasts a lifetime and overflows in all spheres. The demonstration of power in the digital realm sometimes takes on even greater proportions. Research shows that people tend to behave much more aggressively on social media than in live conversations.

Based on Newton's second law, which states that force is equal to the mass multiplied by the acceleration, this object demonstrates how when we apply force to one arm of the lever, that force is transmitted to the other arm of the lever – according to the law of conservation of energy. Then, the transmitted force in the second arm of the lever leads to a large increase, which can cause stationary bodies to gain acceleration and, respectively, speed, so as to achieve the effect of a bullet.

With joint efforts we can lift the burden and become stronger against the pressure of hatred. The expression "the tongue has no bones, but it is strong enough to break a heart" speaks of the power of words and their effect. A system of several pulleys is used in this installation, which reduces the effort necessary to lift the weights.

Being an object of prejudice is in itself a source of significant stress, so often the decision to come in direct confrontation in situations of hostile speech online can be too heavy an emotional burden for people who are the object of said verbal violence. If we actively intervene in situations where someone becomes the object of hate speech, we lift this burden, helping them to feel supported.

This is a demonstration of a polispasse system with four pulleys – one fixed and three movable. The purpose of this type of system is to increase the applied force, so that you can lift a large load with little applied force. The fixed pulley does not give us strength, but provides us convenience by changing the direction of the force. With each of the movable pulleys, we acquire twice as much force. Thus, the three pulleys increase our strength by eight times, and with a slight movement, we can lift a 40 kg block, which is approximately the weight of this boulder.