Acceptance of the unfamiliar is a very important aspect of today’s life. There are many kinds of philosophical, social and psychological theories to describe our relationships to minorities, other nations, other religions, or people who think differently – The Other. In the words of Jacques Derrida, “the other can never be understood as presence, but only with concepts like traces and exteriority. He has completely broken with the phenomenological metaphysics of presence — the other can never be understood in a theoretical act, but only by means of ethical responsibility: I take responsibility for the other.” The uneasiness of this kind of responsibility triggers moments of cultural misunderstanding, religious, territorial or personal conflicts.

In his performance Am I You?,1998, Iliko Zautashvili uses four participants in two parts who, through action, try to understand each other. Behavioural patterns and contexts serve as barriers. In one case eye bondage interrupts communication; in another, different languages. The artists creates a hermetic setting of restricted communication. While the first pair attempts to know each other on a sensual level via touch, the second pair focuses on texts, vis the simultaneous reading of words. The artist shows the impossibility of communication when it is rapped within one’s own language or culture. However the other can still be perceived through a nonverbal mode, such as touch.