Marta Soares (São Paulo/Brazil)

For almost 40 years—until 1961—Dona Yayá, a woman from Brazilian high society, lived alone in her home under instruction from her doctors, who had diagnosed her as “mentally ill”. This piece is dedicated to her: a woman in a bath moves slowly, with flowing movements like that of the water. A window is reflected on her body. The condition between life and death, between finite space and infinite time is reflected in the video scenes recorded in Dona Yayá's house and now shown on large screens beside the bath. Different images and projections merge to obscure the performer's body and create an almost surreal experience of human existence at the edge of the abyss. In the year 2000, Marta Soares, who studied under Mercé Cunningham, as well as at the Laban Centre and the Limon Institute, was awarded the Guggenheim Foundation's “Artistic Creation and Research Support Grant” for her research work.

The works of Porta das Mãos, ImPermanências and O Banho are conceived as living installations. Visitors can move from one “exhibit” to the next, just as they would in an exhibition.

Eine Veranstaltung im Rahmen von Brasilien-Fokus IN TRANSIT 06 / Copa da Cultura – Brasil + Deutschland 2006