What Happened to Emma Sulkowicz? 'Mattress Performance' Returns as Cornell Seven Case Sparks Outrage

Outrage over the 'Cornell 7' brought back memories of Emma Sulkowicz's Mattress Performance in 2014 and 2015. Sulkowicz studied at Columbia University in New York and alleged that she was raped by a fellow student in her dorm room on 27 August 2012.

Sulkowicz filed a complaint with the university in 2013, but the disciplinary panel found the alleged assailant, Paul Nungesser, a German student at Columbia, 'not responsible'. Sulkowicz, a visual arts major, also reported the alleged assault to the New York Police Department in May 2014, but the authorities did not pursue criminal charges against him.

The Mattress Performance

To protest what she saw as a lack of accountability, Sulkowicz started the Mattress Performance, an endurance-based work of performance art in which she carried a 50-pound (23kg) mattress, similar to those found in university dormitories, around campus. She said the performance would continue until Nungesser was expelled from the school.

Nungesser was never expelled, and Sulkowicz carried the mattress to her graduation ceremony in May 2015. It also became her senior thesis, titled 'Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight)'.

That same year, Nungesser filed a civil lawsuit against the university for allowing the performance to continue, claiming that it amounted to gender-based harassment. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, but the university later settled the case for undisclosed terms in 2017.

Although Sulkowicz did not achieve the outcome she was fighting for, the Mattress Performance sparked a wider media debate about how sexual assault is handled on university campuses. Sulkowicz also continues to work as an advocate, educator and artist.

Where Is Emma Sulkowicz Now?

On her Instagram profile, Sulkowicz describes her transition from performance art to traditional Chinese medicine, writing: 'I did Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight) in college. Now I do Chinese Medicine.'

On her website, she describes herself as an acupuncturist, artist, educator and advocate. 'As a teen, I made art that became unexpectedly public,' she said. 'It brought me into conversations about consent, power, institutions and care. I became an advocate, public speaker, and educator.'

She also founded a wellness centre called Little Fox, where she practises acupuncture. As an artist, she exhibited her 'The Floating World' piece at The Invisible Dog gallery in Brooklyn, New York, in 2018. The work consisted of a series of glass orbs representing trauma.

Cornell 7 Becomes Reminiscent of Emma's Art

Many have been outraged over the Cornell Seven case, in which a woman identified as Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit against seven former Cornell University students alleging sexual assault. She claimed that she was gang-raped at a fraternity house after being coerced into taking ketamine and other substances.

Jane Doe claimed that she reported the incident to Cornell police in 2024, the same year it happened. However, the district attorney initially declined to file charges because her original statement did not describe the alleged incident as involving coercion or non-consensual drugging.

The civil lawsuit has sparked shock and an intense public reaction, reminiscent of the outrage in 2014 when people learned about Sulkowicz. Lawyers for the accused have denied the allegations. Under renewed scrutiny, the district attorney's office has reopened the investigation and said it will seek a grand jury review if Jane Doe agrees to testify.