Ephemeral Archives: A performatic lecture by Hugo Fortes and Síssi Fonseca During our presentation we have read the text below, while we were showing some images of our previous pieces and also performing with objects that we used in our last performances. By showing these images in a kind of visual archive and also creating a new performance with material from other works we want to discuss the possibilities of reenactment and recreation. The following images were projected during the presentation. At the end of this paper there are some photos of the performatic lecture presented in the Performing Documents Conference. Performance Tic Tac, São Paulo, 2012 Life They met the first time in 1986. He studied Advertising, she studied Public Relations, but they preferred Art instead of Communications. Art Installation, video, material, image, dance, voice, text, performance, drawing, lists, concepts, mistakes, and all together Performance Tic Tac, São Paulo, 2012
Together Sometimes they work together, sometimes separated. Some times Time Tic Tac This is the name of their last performance. It has also another title, that is, Coffee with milk. Daily life. Collaborations, Relations, Loneliness, time flux. Performance Tic Tac, São Paulo, 2012 Performance Tic Tac, São Paulo, 2012 Flux They have made several pieces about flows. He has been putting rivers in boxes. To Contain. To Float. She let them flow. River Ophelia loved Hamlet. She felt down. He made her body. And threw it in water. Good bye. Flow, floating. Go. Water She loves to clean. She washed galleries with her own body. As she were a piece of rag. Performance, Washing, São Paulo, 2003
Cleaning The floor, the space, the gallery, the soil, the soul, the shoes. The dirty husband. Dirty chic. Man Hard. Hunting. Hard. Woman Cleaning. Performance, Minutes, São Paulo, 2010 Couple Inside/outside Soft, Hard. Staying, waiting. What remains? What remains is the name of this performance. Memories They were both living with us. He had cancer, she had Alzheimer. They were both dying with us. Medicines Placebo is the name of another performance. Do you believe in saints, amulets, talismans, medicines, healing, ghosts? Or do you prefer water?
Ghosts They are both living near us. Not the same, but the same. Again. He has Parkinson. She is almost blind. They are almost living near us. They are almost dying. Repetition Repeat please. Repeat please. Repeat please. Repeat please Performance Tic Tac, São Paulo, 2012 Performance, Minutes, São Paulo, 2010 Re-enactment. Nothing else will be the same. But it must be repeated. Every Day, Daily life, Tic-tac, Minutes, Ghosts, Tic-tac, Re-enactment. Marriage They married three times. The first one was official, eighteen years ago. But it looked rather like a happening. The second and the third times were last year, during a performance. In her veil all memories were tied. Photographs, an old briefcase, a violin case, clothes, bills, and other personal objects. The third re-enactement was in the same place were they really married. Objects She collected buckets. And rags. He was fond of aquariums. And boxes. Archives Installation. Performance. Terrestrial Letter. Putting Earth inside boxes. Archives, Letters, Documents, Nature, Culture. Ants eating his installation.
Performance, Minutes, São Paulo, 2010 Performance, Que pena (What a pity/feather), São Paulo, 2010 Animals Ants. Dragonflies coming visiting dragonflies sculptures. Dogs, Cats. Fishes. Birds. And Rabbits Food She can t cook. He is the chef. Breaking rules. Changing roles Cut Cut. Cut. Cut. On the table Removing. Red Words
Traveling.. Silence..
Photos from the Performatic Lecture presente in Bristol Photo Credits: Carina Weidle Síssi Fonseca and Hugo Fortes
Hugo Fortes is visual artist, curator, and professor at the Universidade de São Paulo. From 2004 to 2006 he lived in Berlin, Germany with a PhD DAAD Fellowship. He has made many exhibitions in Brazil, United States, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Greece, Philippines, Armenia, Venezuela, Chile, Morocco, and Uruguai. Some of his recent exhibitions are Tierperspektiven at the Georg-Kolbe Museum, Berlin, Germany, Whitespace Gallery in Atlanta, USA, Nouvelles de Sao Paulo at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, in Paris, France, Urbi et Orbi, in Paço das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil and Bienal del Fin del Mundo, in Argentina. www.hugofortes.com Síssi Fonseca is visual artist and performer. She participated already in exhibitions in Germany, France, Denmark, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. From 2004 to 2006 she lived in Berlin, where she developed her artistic researches. Their performances were shown in venues as Whitespace Gallery in USA, Schiller Pallais in Berlin, Germany, Gallery Artcore in Paris, Royal Academy of Arts in Kopenhagen, Denmark, Festival de la Tierra in Venezuela, Matucana Cien in Chile, Paço das Artes in Brazil and other places. www.sissifonseca.com