Rhapsody of Effacement: a cave dance

Abstract

A two-act performance by Sofia Borges, exploring the relationship between past, present and future through a dystopian approach. The project focuses on masks made from photographic portraits of sculptures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, selected for their ability to “look” at the viewer. The performance inverts the traditional dynamic, making the past (represented by the masks) observe the audience, provoking reflections on memory, forgetting and the fluidity of history. The work questions the fixity of cultural meanings and the way museums dissociate objects from their original contexts. The performance transforms static sculptures into active entities, challenging notions of time and identity. The result includes photographs and films that are autonomous works, not just documentation. The collaboration with dancers and musicians reinforces the idea of ​​a past that resurfaces, interrogating the present.