Monica Rekas root work (work that root)
© M. Rekas, 2016
During this performance, Rekas will be broadcasting a healing ritual on Chaturbate.com, a popular webcam sex site. The inspiration for this project comes from her research on African-American Hoodoo spiritualism. The tradition revolves around the magical principals of contagion and sympathy — contagion being the idea that objects in contact continue to hold influence over each other, while the principle of sympathy holds that objects possess characteristics similar to a spell’s intended result. In addition to being staple ingredients of Trinidadian cuisine, the objects she has chosen to work with possess properties that aid in decolonizing her body — a body that has never truly belonged to her. By using Chaturbate as a platform, Rekas is reclaiming the right to her representation and likeness, her physical form, and divine sexuality.
Monica Rekas’ project also attempts to question the relationship between the Black female body and webcam exhibitionism, particularly in the contexts of webcam modelling and sex work. In an age of data mining and enhanced government surveillance, the amount of agency she has over herself and the distribution of her image has become increasingly compromised. By choosing to broadcast a ritual that would otherwise be conducted in private, she is negotiating the terms of exposure with the corporate entities that wish to gain control over her body.
Festival tickets office available on site
$5 (access to all the activities of the Opening Party of the HTMlles Festival)
*Also at OBORO at 8:30 pm
performance SPAM, Johnny Forever and Gambleron (5$)
© M. Rekas, 2016
Monica Rekas is an emerging artist currently living on occupied Kanien’kehá:ka territory. Working primarily in film and video, her works often centre on themes of identity politics, sexual representation, and afro-cyber resistance. In terms of methodology, Monica is most interested in exploring the intersections between audio/video, analogue/digital, and personal/political.
