Performance
Eisa Jocson & Venuri Perera
Sweeping Sister : A Performance Art
Supported by The Columns Gallery
For Asia NOW’s 10th Edition Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera present Magic Maids : Sweeping Sisters (a performance art). The performance combines dance, ritual and resistance to examine how archetypal figures such as ‘the witch’ and ‘the maid’ have been historically oppressed. Drawing a link between European witch-hunts and the global exploitation of domestic workers, particularly in the Global South, the performance uses the broom as a symbol of domesticity and feminist resistance. Jocson and Perera traverse multiple conceptual and emotional spaces, challenging the invisibility of care work and oppressive power structures while celebrating female solidarity. Magic Maids: Sweeping Sisters (a performance art) is a reflection on the intersections of gender, labour and history.
Magic Maids : Sweeping Sisters (a performance art)
© National Gallery Singapore
Artist
Eisa Jocson & Venuri Perera
Concept, Creation, Dramaturgy, Performance Light Design
Ariana Battaglia
Sound Design
Soraya Bonaventure
Artistic Advice
Rasa Alksnyte
Text Advice
Ruhanie Perera
Spiritual Advice
Nenet Ocson Babaylan-Vaigaland
Outside Eyes and Ears
Arco Renz, Tang Fu Kuen
Dramaturgical Support
Anna Wagner, Alexandra Hennig
Production Advice
Sandro Lunin
Technical Production
Seok Hui Yap
Producer
Katja Armknecht, Anne Kleiner
Production Management
Paula Elena Noack, Greta Katharina Klein
Curation
Asia NOW
Schedule
Friday 18.10 – 1:00 pm
Saturday 19.10 – 2:00 pm
Sunday 20.10 – 3:00 pm
About the artists
Eisa Jocson (b. 1986, Philippines) is a visual artist and choreographer based in Manila. Her work explores themes of gender, labour and migration through forms such as pole dance, macho dance and Disney characters. She has participated in major festivals in Asia and Europe and won the CCP 13 Artists Award 2018 and the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award 2019.
Venuri Perera (b. 1981, Sri Lanka) is a choreographer and performance artist born in Colombo. Her work questions the power dynamics of visibility and identity. She has performed worldwide and curated the Colombo Dance Platform. A graduate of DAS Theatre, she is now based in Amsterdam.
Additional information
Funded as part of the Alliance of International Production Houses by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media and the Hessian Ministry of Science and Arts.
Supported by residencies at Kaserne Basel, Puón Institute Philippines, Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka, Dance Nucleus Singapore, Studio Plesungan Indonesia, and Colomboscope Contemporary Art Festival 2024.