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        transcendence - trance ’n dance explores the power of dance as a tool of bodily reappropriation and radical self-expression, and of trance as a state of heightened awareness. The performance narrates the liberation journey of the Self from the physical and psychological confinement imposed by the (body) politics of a colonialist, patriarchal, and capitalist society. 

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        An electronic-poetic piece narrates. I listen; I respond—through dance. Connected to a circle of automated drums via a vaginal muscle reader, which reacts to the movements of my hips as a protest from the oppressed genitals, the outcome is a sonic clash between the drums (primal, ancestral, rooted) and the electropoetry in the speakers (digital, intellectual, evolved). 

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        During the whole piece, I battle to balance dual and binary forces— reclaiming my body as subject, to stop it from being object. In my costume, I embody the eagle and the snake from Mexican mythology as a representation of dualism. 

        The narrative is inspired by the Greek creation myth. After everything was Chaos (nothingness), Gaia (earth) is born, and from her, Uranus (sky). The sound starts being chaotic and ends up being harmonious; there is no winner. All dualities coexist.


The Mexican emblem, which can be found on the Mexican flag, is an eagle (yang) eating a snake (yin). The legend says that Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the sun and war, told the Aztecs when they were migrating from Aztlán that wherever they saw that event happening, they should establish their civilization. They found this place in lake Texcoco and founded Tenochtitlán, today’s Mexico City. The fact that the eagle is eating the snake is a symbol of patriarchy. 

The snake represents the yin energy because it is earth and water, and I carry it on the left side of my body. The eagle represents the yang energy because it is air and fire, and I carry it on the right side of my head (mind). 

                   

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        The sensor I use combines a muscle reader used for electronic DIY projects with the Periform® Intra-Vaginal Probe by Neen, which is a medical-grade device that is used for pelvic floor health (as an output to obtain muscle biofeedback or as an input to induce muscle stimulation). I transform its purpose and turn it into an expressive device for my art. By contracting my vaginal muscles or by moving my hips, the sensor is activated. I, then, can control anything running on electricity with my vagina. 

ặnim@ ○ sWitches

      
        This project exists within the wider project ặnim@ by sWitches, an interdisciplinary, cyberfeminist, artivist constellation formed by pamela varela (MX, 1995), Ines DeRu (ID/ES, 1998), and ella hebendanz (DE, 1997). Taking the witch as a symbol for the rebellious feminist, we make our way into the patriarchal technological field to express a more diverse(ifying) view on technology and create sensorial experiences that extend and enhance human connection. We use technology in close contact with our bodies, envisioning it as a tool for contemporary magick, while simultaneously exploring the notions of power and control that arise between human and machine. 

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        ặnim@ is a sensorial, communal universe where our spells generate a ritualistic act of resistance. It is formed by 3 chapters.

        son tra mi ona, Ines DeRu: Sonic gathering that embarks us into a deep listening journey where the artist invites the audience to listen and feel elemental sounds of nature, carried by her voice through the vibrations transmitted from the instruments of healing.

       transcendence - trance ‘n dance, pamela varela: Performance exploring dance as a tool of bodily reappropriation, where the artist fights against the politics of a colonialist, patriarchal, and capitalist society. Connected to a circle of automated drums via a vaginal muscle reader reacting to the movements of her hips, the outcome is a sonic clash between the drums and an electronic-poetic piece.

        compositions of unbroken flows, ella hebendanz: Inspired by the craft of pottery and clay’s symbolism of matter, the artist uses mechanised turning wheels to compose a swirling dreamscape that contextualises their research of bodily entanglement. Playing with the synchronicity of sound, image, and movement, as well as that of human and machine, their own narrative is woven.