Recorded performance by MPU. The face is distorted, as ambitions smear it. Its a commentary on my personal relationship with ambition and the desire to suceed. It seems like a childish whim but this oscillations between being fearful of dreaming too big and giving yourself entirely to your ambitions are an intrinsic part of the contemporary human experience.
This performance is best expressed by sequential shots: a study in distortion. Reminiscent of locomotion photography in the past as a study of movement, this performance is interested in depicting the deformation of the subjects face by their own hand. Although temporary, even momentary, these distortions to the face suggest distortions to identity. Gold and silver –symbolic of desires and aspiration– paint are violently smeared across the face, as if the subject wished for the paint to become a part of them, without the means to do so. This in turn becomes a frustrating battle, and incentivised by no exterior body, it is the physical depiction of an internal struggle.
“I look at you, you look at me. The battle continues. It is disquieting precisely because your gaze and my acknowledgement of it does not halt the vulnerable act.
Shame does not disrupt.”
‘Muecas’ is a term in Spanish referring to intentional contortions of the face, generally mocking expressions. These distorted expressions, particularly when unintentional, are generally considered shameful and at times grotesque by a general audience. They’re unflattering and unnatural, meant to be hidden. Even though we are all aware every individual is capable of them. Much like desires and desperation.
© 2024 MPU.
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