Realm of the Dead
Realm of the Dead (Realm) is a mixed-media installation performance where the installation can also be given separately as an art exhibit. Realm incorporates practice-led, engagement, and design research. In Realm, I explore my life as an immigrant to the United States who grew up in Brazil at the time of the military dictatorship (1964‒1985). The piece connects social work research content as it explores personal and social consequences of psychosocial issues: grief and loss, gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, and undocumented immigration status. Realm is based on Marília, my one-person play, originated at the 2015 United Solo Festival on Theatre Row in New York City, where it won the award for Best Documentary Script. It was remounted in 2016 at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Realm performances took place around 35 assemblage sculptures built on vintage suitcases and trunks. Most were arranged on two-tier luggage racks, laid out on an installed white floor. The sculptures represent children’s graves in the public cemetery where my sister Marília, who died at the age of three, was buried. Presented as an exhibit, the cemetery portion of Realm comprises 21 stations/graves, three of which contain videos of key monologues and other audio recordings. Details are HERE.
Sculptural elements project out of the interiors and lids of the suitcases and trunks. Set designer Sarah Tanner and I modified, reinforced and adapted the suitcase and trunk substrates to support artifacts reflecting elements of Marília’s story. The sculptures conveyed both chaotic and orderly states of my development as a child, as a sister and a brother, as a queer adult, and as an undocumented immigrant. We used a wide range of materials and styles to embody my and my family’s memories. The finished suitcases and trunks were placed six feet apart on the installed floor, reminding audiences that Realm was conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Performances
