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| Untitled (Performance documentation) Oil on canvas 60″x48″ |
| Regiane Yuki Sabanai Presents Ana Teresa Fernandez |
As a young girl in Mexico, I learned at an early age about the double standard
imposed on women and their sexuality. “Los hombres quieren a una dama en la
mesa, y a una puta en la cama” (“Men want a lady at the table, and a whore in the
bed”) is a statement I heard at fifteen, and it still lingers in my ears. For
contemporary women, it is often difficult to reconcile the ubiquitous images of
virgin and whore in our culture: clean vs. dirty. It is a fine line that becomes the
point of demarcation for women to dance around. Through performance-based
paintings, I explore territories that encompass these different types of
boundaries and stereotypes: the physical, the emotional, and the psychological.
imposed on women and their sexuality. “Los hombres quieren a una dama en la
mesa, y a una puta en la cama” (“Men want a lady at the table, and a whore in the
bed”) is a statement I heard at fifteen, and it still lingers in my ears. For
contemporary women, it is often difficult to reconcile the ubiquitous images of
virgin and whore in our culture: clean vs. dirty. It is a fine line that becomes the
point of demarcation for women to dance around. Through performance-based
paintings, I explore territories that encompass these different types of
boundaries and stereotypes: the physical, the emotional, and the psychological.
| Aquarius (Performance documentation at San Deigo/Tijuana border) Oil on canvas 54″x82″ |
| Left to Swoon (Performance documentation) Oil on canvas 36″x48″ |
My first paintings in this body of work were of women dressed in Tango attire,
performing cleaning activities or domestic chores in private and public spaces. As
in Tango, the women duel with their partner — the environment. I attempt to use
the body as a symbolic and measuring device for exploration that pushes and
pulls the space to its limits, activating it until one feels it pushing back. This
dance references the battle between media and predetermined gender notions
and expectations, versus instinctual desires and self-empowerment.
performing cleaning activities or domestic chores in private and public spaces. As
in Tango, the women duel with their partner — the environment. I attempt to use
the body as a symbolic and measuring device for exploration that pushes and
pulls the space to its limits, activating it until one feels it pushing back. This
dance references the battle between media and predetermined gender notions
and expectations, versus instinctual desires and self-empowerment.
| Eco y Narciso II (performance documentation at Rodeo Room) 60″x72″ Oil on canvas Intalled with 7 minute sound documentation |
My work investigates how women identify their strengths and sensuality in
performing labor in which there is no visible economic or social value, and which is
frequently considered “dirty.” I also subvert the typical overtly folkloric
representations of Mexican women in paintings by changing my protagonist’s
uniform to the quintessential little black dress. Wearing this symbol of American
prosperity and femininity, the protagonist tangos through this intangible
dilemma with her performances at the San Diego/Tijuana Border — a place I myself
had to cross to study and live in the US. In these performances, I portrayed this
multiplication of self and the Sisyphean task of cleaning the environment to
accentuate the idea of disposable labor resources. Moreover, the black dress is
transformed into a funerary symbol of luto, the Mexican tradition of wearing
black for a year after a death.
performing labor in which there is no visible economic or social value, and which is
frequently considered “dirty.” I also subvert the typical overtly folkloric
representations of Mexican women in paintings by changing my protagonist’s
uniform to the quintessential little black dress. Wearing this symbol of American
prosperity and femininity, the protagonist tangos through this intangible
dilemma with her performances at the San Diego/Tijuana Border — a place I myself
had to cross to study and live in the US. In these performances, I portrayed this
multiplication of self and the Sisyphean task of cleaning the environment to
accentuate the idea of disposable labor resources. Moreover, the black dress is
transformed into a funerary symbol of luto, the Mexican tradition of wearing
black for a year after a death.
In addition to highlighting ongoing socio-political conflicts, the works also
underscore the intersection of everyday tasks and fantasy from both sides of
the political/gender divide, illuminating the psychological walls that confine
and divide genders in a domestic space.
underscore the intersection of everyday tasks and fantasy from both sides of
the political/gender divide, illuminating the psychological walls that confine
and divide genders in a domestic space.
| Untitled (Performance documentation at San Diego/Tijuana border) Oil on canvas 60″x72″ |
| Untitled (Performance documentation) Oil on canvas 72″x48″ |
| Siren’s Shadow (Performance documentation) Oil on canvas 53″x57″ |
| Untitled (Performance documentation) Oil on canvas 6″x8″ |
| Untitled (Performance documentation) Oil on canvas 62″x36″ |