ONLY IF THEY FALL ME ASLEEP
Created with basis on the reflections that emerged from a visit to Documenta 14 (2017), which aimed to undertake a historical decolonial revision, this work is a piece in three movements: the age of stone, the age of the mountain, and the age of dance. The entire work was based on weekly encounters of the artist with a group of elderly ballroom dancers, most of whom were visually impaired.
In Only if They Fall Me Asleep, the artist invokes the emphasis upon the visual system used in the West, which favors retinal vision over other manners of capturing/experiencing reality. The work adopts as a strategy the broadening of forms of touch and presence, aiming at helping us to perceive the relationships/perceptions that might emerge in these encounters.
The age of stone is a 60-minute eutony practice. Assisted by vocal instructions, the dancers experience the molecular movements and information of their own bodies: the sound of their breathing, the size of their liver, the bones that connect with the floor, and many others. The public enters the exhibition space in the 45th minute, witnessing the end of this movement.
In the age of the mountain, there is a search for the relationship between bodies and geological eras, and the possibility of establishing contact and movement through touch.
In the age of dance, the dancers move alone or together, while listening to different music through headphones; at the same time, the artist, accompanied by a musician, sings a single verse of the song Vapor Barato, by Jards Macalé and Waly Salomão: Oh, sim, eu estou tão cansada (Oh, yes, I am so tired).
In Only if They Fall Me Asleep, the artist invokes the emphasis upon the visual system used in the West, which favors retinal vision over other manners of capturing/experiencing reality. The work adopts as a strategy the broadening of forms of touch and presence, aiming at helping us to perceive the relationships/perceptions that might emerge in these encounters.
The age of stone is a 60-minute eutony practice. Assisted by vocal instructions, the dancers experience the molecular movements and information of their own bodies: the sound of their breathing, the size of their liver, the bones that connect with the floor, and many others. The public enters the exhibition space in the 45th minute, witnessing the end of this movement.
In the age of the mountain, there is a search for the relationship between bodies and geological eras, and the possibility of establishing contact and movement through touch.
In the age of dance, the dancers move alone or together, while listening to different music through headphones; at the same time, the artist, accompanied by a musician, sings a single verse of the song Vapor Barato, by Jards Macalé and Waly Salomão: Oh, sim, eu estou tão cansada (Oh, yes, I am so tired).
2017/2018
performance
3 hours
performers: Sonia Maria Silvestre, Marlene Cordelia, Zelia Araujo dos Santos, Madalena Ligia Coutinho dos Reis, Regina Celia de Faria Ferreira, Teresa Riello, Benjamin Orlandi, Joel Souza Leal, Walter Roberto Cirillo, Giba Duarte, Aparecido Silvestre.
music: Kilsen Girotto na Casa do Povo e Carla Boregas na SP-Arte
body perception: Ana Dupas
make-up: Felipe Ramirez
voice: Camila Valones
fotos e câmera: Adima Macena, André Penteado
edição de vídeo: Pedro Gallego
performance
3 hours
performers: Sonia Maria Silvestre, Marlene Cordelia, Zelia Araujo dos Santos, Madalena Ligia Coutinho dos Reis, Regina Celia de Faria Ferreira, Teresa Riello, Benjamin Orlandi, Joel Souza Leal, Walter Roberto Cirillo, Giba Duarte, Aparecido Silvestre.
music: Kilsen Girotto na Casa do Povo e Carla Boregas na SP-Arte
body perception: Ana Dupas
make-up: Felipe Ramirez
voice: Camila Valones
fotos e câmera: Adima Macena, André Penteado
edição de vídeo: Pedro Gallego