(they/them) hybrid films
Hybrid Film Performances
combining my two passions (Theater&Cinema)
Acting has been my passion since early age. While in Theater School in Chile, I worked with Elías Cohen, Gloria Salgado and Juan Carlos Montagna. All of these mentors navigated the world of physical acting and performance from different perspectives. I explored these disciplines combining my martial arts background as a way to understand the power of being present. I applied this knowledge when reading Richard Schechner's and Francisco Varela's theories about mind&body, embodiment, (en)actment, and I was fortunate to meet in person and establish a friendship with Phillip Zarrilli, who put into words many of these ideas through the concept of Psychophysical Acting.
Today I'm developing a new way to show my 16mm film work by also creating psychophysical performances that complement these pieces.
After presenting "Render My Body" (2021) at Ars Electronica NYC and "Render My Body II" (2022), with the support of an FCA Emergency Grant, I put together "A body (sur)renders/Un cuerpo (se)rinde" (2022)
A BODY (SUR)RENDERS/
UN CUERPO (SE)RINDE
a hybrid film/performance
A Body (sur)renders/Un Cuerpo (se)rinde is a psychophysical hybrid film & live performance where images, audio and movement are intertwined for the audience to experience it as a single synchronized piece. The films included, shot over the past 4 years, are in itself a process of transformation and raw performances captured on 16mm film that address physical and psychological changes in the human body at a personal level. This hybrid film/performance is an intimate piece where I manifest who I am today as queer trans human and how this identity is deeply intertwined with me as an artist. (This project was supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.)
Video excerpt of the performance presented on August, 2022 at Millennium Film Workshop
Photos by Kendall Burger
RENDER MY BODY II (STILLSUITE)
a hybrid multimedia/performance
Video Reel by Dolphin
'Render My Body II' (Video projection + Java coding + performance) was my first hybrid film & live performance experiment, where I explore what it means to inhabit a trans/queer body in the context of a world that has rendered our bodies as vulnerable.
For this new version of the hybrid video/performance I utilized the original renders designed by The Glad Science and a layering of recordings that are documentations of my voice change after 10 months of HRT. I also collaborated with Erin Wajufos, digital artist who used p5.js coding to alter the dna of the images captured live by a webcam. P5.js is a JavaScript library for creative coding, with a focus on making coding accessible and inclusive for artists, designers & educators.
In the future I would like to develop more hybrid projects where film and performance become an immersive experience for the audience.
A new version of this performance was shown at Millennium Film Workshop as part of the
StillSuite A/V Performance Showcase
July 30, 2022
RENDER MY BODY (ARS ELECTRONICA)
a hybrid film/performance
Watch a short clip of the full performance presented at the 2021 NYC Ars Electronica
In "Render my body" I explore what it means to inhabit a queer body in today's world.
The project consists of different layers of visualization: a 16mm film/performance, the projection of this film onto my body, a psychophysical choreography and the rendering of a non-binary avatar by The Glad Scientist, all put together in a roughly 20min live performance.
For the creation of the avatar I asked The Glad Scientist to help me design a character that represents my queer body in transition. The avatar is shaped after my current body structure, pushing some physical attributes to blur the boundaries of cis-het notions of the body while it also resembles a humanoid figure that once appeared in a dream I had many years ago when I first came to the U.S. In this dream I was surrounded by a group of blue&purple genderless beings that were taking me into the ocean, in a harbor off the coast of New York City. I could see myself abandoning my old life inland and becoming one of them.
The avatar is meant to continue their transition along with mine IRL being informed by my gender identity as trans non-binary, dream visions and current events changing the restrictions in our current society of survival (in reference to Byung-Chul Han's article)
This performance was first shown at Culture Lab LIC
September 11, 2021