Friday, May 13: SESSION 2 Giacomo Colosi, Veronica Peña and Hector Canonge

The Espejo Organization for the Arts presents “EOarts Performance Art Series 2016: Session 2”. The second night of this four-night series will host three performances; “Extraordinary Ability” by Veronica Peña, “Bags” by Giacomo Colosi, and “De lo Ajeno (Of Others)” by Hector Canonge and Veronica Peña on May 13th, 2016 at Rabbithole Projects.

“Alien Of Extraordinary Ability” is a performance that explores issues related to migration, cultural identity, and border politics. Inspired by the process of applying for an O1 visa in the United States, and using American stereotypes of the Spanish culture, Verónica Peña creates a performance that brings the audience into an interview with an embassy immigration officer. Using Spanish traditions, the artist creates a performance where the audience is, as a group and as individuals, engaged in a series of questions that immigrants are asked in order to be granted permission to enter the United States. Born in Spain and based in the United States,  Veronica Peña’s work explores themes of absence, separation, and the search for harmony through performance art. Her recent work consists of experimental participatory performances that create shared moments amongst strangers. Peña earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. She earned her Master of Fine Arts at Stony Brook University, New York, focusing on installation and performance art. Peña has exhibited in Spain, Germany, Italy, South Korea, and United States. 

“Bags” is an ongoing performance that investigates the limits between art and life. Using a raw, humorous, and absurd style, Giacomo Colosi displays his personal bag collection, accessories he used until they were no longer wearable and that have become part of his personal belongings archive since 1998. During the performance, Colosi chooses one bag at a time, exposing all the contents found on each of the them. He invites the audience to be part of his memory process where each bag represent a stage of his life, a particular experience, or a particular place. He creates a synergy with his environment and encourages participants to revisit their own memories based on their personal belongings. Born in Messina, Italy, and based in New Jersey, Giacomo Colosi is an independent performance and video artist whose work explores concepts of absence, personal memories, and vulnerability. Colosi has performed at art festivals all around Italy including Arte Contemporanea en Movimiento (2005), Festival Internazionale del Teatro in Piazza (2010), C.E.R.P. Le Arti In Citta Perugia Contemporanea (2007). Colosi has also performed in collaboration with Frieze Projects at Frieze Art Fair (2009), Biennale di Venezia, Nordic Pavilion (2009) and Non-Dancers performance at the Whitney Biennial (2012).

“De Lo Ajeno (Of Others)”  is a performance that explores Hispanic stereotypes in relation to national and personal identity. Based on perceptions that Americans have of Spanish and Latino cultures, and taking into account the historic ties between Spain and South America, artists Verónica Peña and Hector Canonge, create a performance that establishes possible dialogues and readings of otherness. Using references and appropriating popular Hispanic traditions and practices, the artists create a dynamic performative environment where games of passion, power, control, domination, conquest, and mutual understanding are proposed. The performance consists of five actions marked by movement, sound, and the use of artifacts created by the artists. Every action evokes a moment and personal experience of the artists’ lives in the United States. Hector Canonge is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, educator, and cultural entrepreneur based in New York City. His work incorporates the use of new media technologies, cinematic narratives, LHive Action Art, and Social Practice to explore and treat issues related to constructions of identity, gender roles, psychogeography, and the politics of migration.  Canonge started projects such as ARTerial Performance Lab (APLAB), an initiative to foster collaboration among performance artists from the Americas, PERFORMEANDO, a program that focuses on featuring Hispanic performance artists living in the USA and Europe, NEXUSURNEXUS a virtual platform for Live Action Art, and PERFORMAXIS, an international residency program in collaboration with galleries and art spaces in Latin America. He created, and organizes independently the annual Performance Art Festival NYC, ITINERANT.