about the production
The performance is a viewer’s confrontation with three naked bodies. For a random period of time he has the opportunity to sit opposite naked performers, whereby a mutual visual contact is made and the intimity of nakedness is immediately disturbed. Nakedness, in this case, does not mean an erotic offer, but rather a personal challenge, because the face of each performer has signs of sexual identity denied by his/ her body. In this way, the performance, in addition to other things, intrigues the viewer with questions of man’s social identity determination and definition of a man/a woman, thus illustrating the sexual policy and pointing out the complications in the understanding of sex.
There is only a small desk dividing the silent, face-to-face sitting couple performer – viewer, while the viewer is listening to a romantic, love song in his headphones. The performance is turned into a kind of „open experience“: it is up to the viewer to set its length, the kind of relationship (by selecting the performer he wants to face himself), as well as the moment when he gets up and interrupts the course of the event thus leaving the space for the next viewer. In the meanwhile, all the other viewers are waiting sideways on a sofa as observers and can decide whether they want to take part in the performance or not.
casaBranca – Association for Culture, Lisbon, Portugal, 2011
Author: Ana Borralho, João Galante
Directed by Ana Borralho, João Galante
creators
conception: Ana Borralho & João Galante
performers: Ana Borralho, João Galante, Miguel Moreira
make-up: Jorge Bragada
music: Platters, David Bowie, Beyonce
production: casaBranca
co-production: Centro Cultural de Belém, Eira, wid.lov
director
Ana Borralho (1972) & João Galante (1968) are visual artists and actors. They have been working as a team since 2002, exhibited in Europe, South America and the United Arab Emirates. They participated in the Olho theatre company projects, are founding members of the Jimmie Durham group and the cultural association casaB. They live and work in Lisbon and Lagos.