But inside I wondered - why am I the bellend? I'm the only person here treating the other human in the room like a human rather than like a zoo animal. The etiquette is to navel gaze and swill your wine. No wonder performance art is almost exclusively the realm of middle and upper classes.

The art world has been ossified somewhat by a very long period of "art is about subversion for its own sake and making sure the stupid peasants don't get it." Art should challenge its subjects (and the artists) regularly, but the idea of "being hostile to the audience is smart and cool" is over a century old and is no longer rebellious... it is the establishment now.