The Mistress of Loneliness (Performance 1) is the first live performance of an ongoing multidisciplinary project The Mistress of Loneliness that combines performance, video, costumes, and installation. The project is based on my experience growing up in Cuba and as a recent immigrant to the US exploring notions of isolation and mechanisms of survival. I perform as my alter-ego Cuquita, The Cuban Doll. It incorporates costumes that are inherently behavioral, presenting multiple options for the wearer: a sleeve becomes a neckpiece; a pocket holds objects with special memories for me, letters from my family, portraits, etc. In my world, the body is a nation. The Mistress of Loneliness is my first openly autobiographical project delving into my past and the present, magnifying my raw emotions to contributes to a much-needed and timely dialogue on the effects of migration on the individual.

Yali Romagoza is a Cuban-born artist currently based in Queens, NY. She graduated with an MFA in Fashion from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2013-20015) and a BA in Art History from the University of Havana, (2001-2006). Her works have been included in the Gothenburg Biennial (2007), Havana Biennial (2009), Bétonsalon, Paris, (2009), Liverpool Biennial (2010). She has performed at Links Hall Theater, Chicago (2012), White Box, NY (2012), Teatro LATEA, NY (2018), Art in Odd Places, NY (2018), Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, NC (2018). She premiered her documentary/video-performance “Normal Is Good (I like America and America like me)” at Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago (2015). Romagoza has been granted numerous awards and residencies including Cátedra Arte de Conducta by Tania Bruguera, La Habana (2007), Bétonsalon Centred'art et de recherché, Paris, (2009), NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program (2017), NY.

Polina Riabova is a Brooklyn-based poet, writer and performance artist originally from Kupavna, Moskovskaya Oblast, Russia. She flunked out of Southern New Hampshire University in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2016, she co-founded Borrowed Birds Records and became a correspondent at Performance Is Alive. The Blue Rose series is Polina’s first curatorial effort which aims to bring together artists of different backgrounds, social scenes and aesthetics through the mediums of performance, visual and written work. She is Editor-in-Chief of PLASTER COCKTAIL zine.
@plastercocktail 🥀 portrait by @jazzoolazz
www.triangle.house/review/issue-11/four-poems
www.instagram.com/polinariabova_/

photo credit: Geraldo Mercado

Iconography of the Vulnerable Self is a multidisciplinary project combining performance and live collage. The work explores notions of gender dysphoria and the public gaze and seeks to implode normative standards of femininity through the acts of layering and stripping. With an element of audience participation, the piece also aims to actively test socio dynamics of aggression, tolerance and solidarity to raise awareness on queer/ trans visibility and safety in the public space.

Monstera Deliciosa is a multi-faceted performative phenomenon whose work and persona seek to explore different presentations of queer femme and its positioning as other in the public space.
Stemming from a background in experimental theatre, Monstera’s practice encompasses performance and multimedia art, as well as spoken word and theatre. Her works vary in methodology and format, ranging from durational pieces, rhapsodic gestures, site-specific actions and street interventions and have been showcased internationally in London, NYC, Lima, Berlin, Venice and Cuba. Currently, Monstera Deliciosa is based in London where she continues to work on multidisciplinary projects investigating notions of visibility and liminality with a focus on the dynamics of seeing and been seen, making and unmaking.​

www.monsteradeliciosapresents.com

Jenna Kline uses intense physical actions to create her work. Nightmares, memories and heartbreak fuel her pieces. Her body is a sculpture, storyteller, and most importantly, an instrument to connect with her audience. The performances are an outlet to create an expression of raw emotion.

She enters adorned with a full face of makeup - bright red lipstick, high heels and lacy bras to achieve a hyper- feminine persona. As she moves, the lipstick smears and the delicate undergarments collect the dirt from the floor. Donuts and chicken nuggets are rapidly consumed and stuffed into her underwear. What began as a dance recital has become a grotesque, uncoordinated display.

She imposes impossible tasks and obstacles to overcome and a struggle ensues. She sings songs well beyond her ability and dances spastically for long periods of time until she reaches her physical and emotional limits. The result is often slapstick in nature with a dark, gory undercurrent.

The goal is to achieve emotional enlightenment. Once she reaches this state, she is her most transparent and true self. Wearing her heart on her sleeve for all to see. Exhausted and sweating and she has transcended her body and has become a sweaty, fleshy creature.

The air is left with lingering aroma of copper, fried foods and hand sanitizer.

www.jelliebeers.com

Video work: Body Prayers
performer: Sara Kostic
art director: Mina Saranac and Olja Markovic
length: 11 min 43 s

Sara Kostic (born in 1990 in Belgrade), received an M.A. in Architecture Design from Belgrade University. She attended EmergeNYC program, at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, NYU. She polished her practices by working with artists such as VestandPage, Marlin Arsem, Franko B.

In her work, she incorporates her fields of interest referring to the physical and social context that the role of the psychological and physical body takes.

www.sarakostic.com