Willow Smith's excellent music may go slightly overlooked at times, but her upcoming performance art piece certainly will not. On Wednesday (Mar. 11), she will trap herself in a box for 24 hours in service of a performance art piece that provides commentary on anxiety.
The piece is inspired by the 19-year-old's own experiences with anxiety, but its focus is on raising mental health awareness. “This is not so that people are like, ‘Oooh!'” Smith told the Los Angeles Times. “This is for awareness. The first thing we’re going to be writing on our title wall is something along the lines of: ‘The acceptance of one’s fears is the first step toward understanding.’ So then you know this is on something real. This is for a real cause.”
The piece is also inspired by The Anxiety, the album that Smith made with her close friend Tyler Cole and which they plan to release immediately following the performance. “We were like, ‘Wouldn’t it be so interesting if we could personify this experience? Starting from being scared and feeling alone and moving to a place of acceptance and joy?” said Smith. The album was described by the LA Times as "a mix of alternative rock and punk."
The event will take place at the MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary on Wednesday at 9 PM. Viewers will be able to observe Smith and Cole through a glass wall at 15-minute intervals, before being ushered into a room with a livestream of the performance and various tools to cope with mental health issues.