Statement Alexandre da Cunha, 2003

I’m very interested in this idea of displacements, mainly regarding media displacement, the displacement of language. I work mostly in the field of sculpture, and have always worked with video and performances. I think that´s possible based on this principle of displacing, one thing becomes more accessible due to the fluidity of language.

Associação Cultural Videobrasil

Statement Alexandre da Cunha, 2001

About my work

I initiated my practice in art working mostly with sculpture. Recently I started doing performances, videos and objects informed by injuries and the repair of the body. The starting point of my work was based on the idea of loss exploring specific aspects of the damage of the human body which constitutes the core of my work. Recently I became more interested in exploring themes related to the healing situation and concentrated on the manipulation of the body as the main source of my investigations. The current projects inspired by first aid manuals and survival equipment have been bringing up new perspectives to my investigations on misapprehension of the body functions. I used to work with collaborators (friends, artists or students) who participated in some of my performances. With time I started inviting people who did not necessarily know my work before to take part in some pieces which brought up new points of view and emphasized some concepts concerning my role as a performer and the relationship with the audience. From very simple photographs or short videos made in the studio to performances presented in galleries or public spaces I had a chance to have several collaborations from people who - just by coming to my studio or seeing documentation of performance displayed in a gallery and getting to know some pieces in progress - accepted to participate in the work. This has been very productive both for me and the audience since the possibility of questioning our roles seems to be the starting point of this game. I am currently involved with new projects informed by first-aid trying to create new pieces refining themes that I have been exploring within the body of work such as: - trust and dominance, - immobilization and dysfunctionality, - fracture and repair.

Associação Cultural Videobrasil