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Pantomime

01

Pantomime is a European theatre style, which became popularized by the English for its comedy, social commentary and gender role reversals. In this series I explore how the Catholic society of Terçeira, an island in the Azores, integrates gender role reversal in the form of drag, during theatrical carnival celebrations, both on and off stage. Here Pantomime is a metaphor for society’s daily “performance” in dealing with “gender deviance”. Pantomime was born out of an invitation by the Portuguese Regional Government to document/interpret Terçeira’s annual carnival, as part of a campaign to attract tourism to the festival. As an artist with interests in gender constructs, I was quickly captivated by the sub-culture of drag, which spilled off the stage into adjoining bars and streets. It is the one time every year that drag is tolerated off stage, and the one time the queer community is able to express itself in this way.

 

 

 

  2006  /  photography  /  Last Updated August 26, 2018 by tascencao  /