Jéssica Teixeira
MONGA

“I am not afraid of my body. If I was, would you feel more comfortable?” With MONGA, Jéssica Teixeira invites each of us to examine our own way of looking at things, without compromise but also not without humor.

A Mexican artist nicknamed “monkey woman” – a monga – Julia Pastrana was afflicted with a condition called hypertrichosis, a rare disease involving excessive body hair growth in areas not typically hairy, as well as a somewhat deformed face. Sold to a human zoo, subjected to horrendous working conditions, she was exhibited as a carnival attraction until 153 years after her death. Jéssica Teixeira was born in Brazil, more than a century after Pastrana’s death. She, too, is an artist. She, too, inhabits an unconventional body. In her solo MONGA, Jéssica Teixeira intertwines her own journey with that of Julia Pastrana, inviting audiences to examine their own imagination. She stands nude, facing the audience, facing their gaze, reflecting their expressions and revealing them. She destabilizes our gaze: what do we project onto her differently shaped body? Where does fear come from, and how far can it lead? Refusing to repeat stories which have already been written, Jéssica Teixeira takes the stage, making it a space for resistance, where she subverts the myths and builds new, imaginary ones.

→ On June 7th, the performance will be followed by a meeting with the artist, animated by students of the Masters in Cultural Institution Management at  Sciences Po Lille

Accessibility infos :

• Show in Portugese with French surtitles and interpreted in the French Sign Language

With the support of Lieux Culturels Pluridisciplinaires de la Ville de Lille
Within the framework of FIESTA – lille3000