Let’s Pretend was a durational performance gallery consisting of three artists simultaneously presenting over the course of an hour. The creation of the gallery aimed to create a safe environment for displaying artworks conceptualized around the relationship between body and consent. The curated audience was invited with a sealed black envelope; only the location and late-night time were provided. Upon walking in, the dark European techno began, the lights flashing. “Let’s Pretend” is a joke, gaslighting the audience into feeling it wasn’t real when they share outside of the space and have no evidence. Curating the space was extremely important to convey the argumentative statements these artists portrayed using their bodies.
This show was performed by experienced artists with safety equipment and precautionary measures taken.
"Performance A" was a self-beating consisting of 4 instruments used various ways on themselves, down their back, thighs, chest, and arms. First, a leather flogger made of roses strikes their back more and more intensely. Then, a glowing green flogger goes back and forth on their thighs, the audience seeing the blood rush and irritation rise. Next, a wooden cane is being flicked on their thighs again. The artist takes pauses to rub out their body with their arms as moments of care. Lastly, they build tension by putting clothespins clipped to their chest and finally ripping them off all at once with a string. This performance was a controversial piece as it can be considered self-harm, where, in the artist’s eyes, they challenge the viewers, exclaiming it is an act of self-love. In their BDSM community, taking beatings is pleasurable; they look to reclaim their power doing it to themselves.
"Performance B" was a live tattoo session, with two tigers going across the shoulder blades of the female client. The tattoo artist is wearing dominatrix gear. The intention of this piece was a reclaiming of power. Being a feminine-presenting person, the artist had often been told they were sexually arousing when inflicting the needle pain on their male clients. This was an uncomfortable feeling as their art practice was being unconsensually sexualized and taken advantage of. The audience got to see the process from stencil to final piece over time, the artist displaying the care that goes into tattoo work and reclaiming the power from those negative comments by taking ownership in that physical way with their clothing.
"Performance C" was a Shibari piece, where a dominant figure rope tied a couple in various positions, contorting their body in demanding ways. The artist carefully suspended the male’s legs from the ceiling, him being helpless as the audience watches the blood leave his legs and his feet turn pale. The woman is tied to the ground and being folded and pulled in different directions. Throughout the performance, the dominant figure verbally humiliates the two, asking them obvious questions and making them feel submissive. The entire act displayed a large piece of BDSM culture and the amount of consent that goes into degradation and vulnerability with your body physically. The rope itself was an art form being tied in beautiful harnesses and clothing-like ways.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Producer/Creative Director: Veronica Labanca
Photo Documentation: Nick Ortoleva
Lighting Design: Onyx Raia
Sound Design: Luckynumber333