GALINASSAGE [I - Narcissus - Echo], 2023
Durational performative installation
by Diana de Sousa
Situated in the context of the intersection of artistic disciplines, GALINASSAGE [I - Narcissus - Echo] is a performative triptych for three performers and a technological artifact, whose parts can function independently or as a durational whole.
I
The transanimal iconography of the supermarket chicken, which loses the memory of its animal past, serves as a metaphor for a process of dehumanization that evolves from an ironic presentation of a female Self and performative gesture into a statement about contemporary art, social behaviors, and how they are interpreted.
NARCISSUS
A proposal centered on the challenges of language use in contemporary society and the inefficacy of language as representation and even the idea of representation itself. Representation is based on the philosophical assumption that something (the sign) can stand for something else. Today, representations violate the autonomy and uniqueness of those represented, resulting in social tensions, self-censorship, and the censorship of others. This state of affairs necessitates a rethinking of representation itself. If no one can represent me except myself, then there is no need for representation, and I cannot conceive of a relationship of alterity. Representation as the idea of the possibility of bringing the other onto the stage in their absence or, in their presence, seems to yield to the ubiquitous presence of replication and multiplication of the same. Ultimately, we become solipsistic Narcissuses, both the senders and receivers of our monologues and monoperformances.
ECHO
The echo is the return of what you say but truncated. How do you know it was you who said it then? Is it already another version of you or another version with you? The echo is the other. It is your words in the mouth of another.
Artistic Direction and Set Design | Diana de Sousa
Artistic consultancy | David Antunes
Performers | Ana Inês Silva, AURORA
Design, Multimedia, and App Programming | Milioitenta
Costumes and props | Diana de Sousa and Inês Vilas Boas
Design | Miguel Mesquita
Music | From "Hair of the Dog" by Gabriel Ferrandini
Editing | Miguel Abreu
Executive Production | Cristiano Campos
Production | Útero
Support: DGArtes | Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Plaka - Shuttle.
Other support: SouLargo, Associação Estufa, Fundação Lapa do Lobo, Carpintarias de São Lázaro, Vast Vistas, All tomorrow’s parties - SillySeason ( Gaivotas6), ZSenneArtLab, and Culterim Gallery.
Exhibitions
October 26/27/28, 2023, starting at 18:30: Culterim Gallery in Berlin, Germany;
November 2/3/4, 2023, starting at 18:30: ZSenneArtLab in Brussels, Belgium;
January 2024: Carpintarias de São Lázaro in Lisbon, Portugal;
January 2024: Vast Vistas in Porto, Portugal.