My media studies project, a performance entitled “As Seen By” explores how bodies and movement in dance practices of queer communities may constitute acts of repair. The project uses performance as a medium to challenge questions of identity, visibility and community.

The performance takes place in my room, my most private and intimate space, that becomes a stage, a spatial component that allows authenticity, vulnerability and self-expression. This work is about creating a time and space where bodies and movement can explore the importance of solidarity and gathering. Queer is defined as a mode of being that works to include individuals who feel rejected by society. Dancing queerly, therefore, refers to dancing in both the sense of movement and creative process to be inclusive and give a voice to those who are often marginalised. Queer dance is political and shaped through an activism that challenges all members of society to move towards a more inclusive future.

The project was developed based on my research on the Ballroom scene, an underground LGBTQ+ subculture that emerged in New York in the late 20th century, in response to the myriad of obstacles the queer community was facing, from structural issues like poverty, racism, and homophobia, to more immediate threats such as sexual violence and the AIDS epidemic. Through performative practices such as drag, dance contests and “walking categories”, these communities became alternative families, providing shelter for those excluded from conventional support systems.

“As Seen By” approaches this topic from my own perspective. The performers involved are all friends from the queer community, invited to explore through movement how their own body can become a powerful asset to shape communal bonds. For the performance, the music that guides the movements was made by a friend, who is a musician and DJ. It was very important for me to try to build a spatial dialogue between bodies and sound.

For the recording of the performance, I decided to use different cameras, viewpoints and angles, to capture the movement of the bodies from various perspectives. I set the first camera in front of the scene to capture both of the performers. Then I placed another camera on each of the two bodies. The performers then became not only actors but also recorders, witnesses of the happening. The act of putting these viewpoints into three different monitors to create a triptych is a way for me to highlight the importance of both individuality and community in such practices. These three images tell the same thing from the perspective of each performer and the audience.

I present this video triptych on three different monitors. On the same table, I display a series of photographs taken during the performance, and which have informed my creative process and research. These elements are displayed in front of the curtain used to set the stage, as a way to bring the performance into the exhibition space.