A collection of works observe human behavior in ritualistic or apparent everyday situations, allowing us to reflect on the performative element in identity, the reproduction of oneself in the reflection of otherness.
Sanctorum is comprised of video installations, photos and paintings in collaboration with artist Pablo de la Peña.
Beginning with an ethnographic method of gathering information during religious dances of traditional festivities, such as the Romeria in Guadalajara and Zapopan, México, obtaining video footage that observes human behavior in ritualistic or apparent everyday situations (such as trades and hobbies) allows us to reflect on the performative element of identity. Following Judith Butler's thought, identity should be seen as a performative action, instead of as an internal reality with a primordial origin or essence.
Video by Pablo de la Peña
Personal or collective memory forms an essential aspect of performative identity. However, memory does not present itself as a deposit of retrievable facts since it is always mixed with fantasy and notions of what we construct as real
Contemporary ritual behavior conjures an uncanny and fanciful appropriation of an imaginary construction of ethnic or sexual identity and the reproduction of oneself in the reflection of the other. Monstrosity and latent violence are revealed through cultural juxtaposition and hybridization. They are also revealed through criminalization of what we do not know, what we distrust, and what does not fit into recognizable domains or habitual comfort zones.
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