To Be Seen & Unseen

Performance

San Diego Central Library Art Gallery, San Diego, California 2020 Mesa Art Gallery, San Diego, California 2019 Mare Culturale Urbano, Milan, Italy 2018 Museion Atelier, Bolzano, South Tyrol 2018 Teatro La Compagnia, Florence, Italy 2017 

Two women with long hair, one with dark hair in a sleeveless top and another with lighter hair in a white shirt, walk past a fenced-off area with a sign in Italian that says, 'No entry, no trespassing.' The area appears to be an outdoor public space
Two women standing outside a modern glass building with black framing and yellow architectural details.
Two people walking along a city sidewalk, passing modern buildings and a large bush on the right.
Clothing rack with a cream-colored blouse and black pants hanging on wooden hangers in a minimalist room.
Two individuals standing on stage wearing masks and long dark hair, with a brick wall background and stage equipment.

What if you could exist in the world without being directly subjected to the gaze of others?

Through various theatrical modes, this performance challenges concepts of exposure, empowerment, and in/visibility. You will be invited to take a journey with a performer. You will be invited to wear a costume, a traveler’s garment and a mask. Inspired by masks used in Venetian culture, this mask will relieve you from social conventions and markers of identity. Along the way, we may share moments of silence, engage with others, or simply converse with each other. At the end of the performance participants will be invited to write their reflections on the costume they wore. 

To Be Seen & Unseen is a performance that challenges the control and surveillance of female bodies. It premiered at the 24th Iranian Women’s Studies Conference in Florence, Italy. The performance was also presented at the opening of Akt III ich/io/me at Museion Atelier in Bolzano, South Tyrol. This was part of a group exhibition called 1+1=3, curated by Elisa Barison and supported by GLURNS ART POINT. To Be Seen & Unseen was commissioned by Mare Culturale Urbano in Milan, Italy. The performance and installation was included in the group show, Subterranean at Mesa Art Gallery in San Diego. The costumes, set, and videos for To Be Seen & Unseen were featured in the group exhibition Fear No Art: Civic Engagement, Histories, Currencies, curated by Dr. Lara Bullock at San Diego Central Library Art Gallery. Guests read writings from previous performances aloud in Farsi, German, Italian, Spanish, and English.

Costumes by Kristina Foley  

Masks by Anna Rose


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