My name is now: negociações e estratégias na representação de Elza Soares

Abstract

The present work aims to show the strategies and negotiations of representation of the artist Elza Soares. Contrary to the practices of erasing and discursive emptying of identity agendas, we use intersectionality as an anti-colonial tool and observe the tensions that the presence of Elza Soares generates in her appearances. We propose, albeit briefly, a narrative for a fragmented universe, capable of proving that the frequent erasures of this artist’s trajectory are not mere chance. Based on the approach to the shows A Mulher do Fim do Mundo (Woman from the End of the World) (2015) and Deus é Mulher (God is a Woman) (2018), we seek to understand the path of building the identity of this being, which now appears resurgent among garbage bags and later sublime and radiant, always a black woman. Aware of the historical violence caused by images of control that insist on fixing pejorative meanings, we propose an analysis that focuses on the agency of Elza Soares that resisted and appropriated markers that were often negative to produce her art and maintain her financial independence and that of her family members. When pointing to absences and alarming data on the condition of women, especially black women, in Brazil, we make it explicit that subversion and coping tactics are often ineffective because they are not allied with government projects, in view of the magnitude of the problem . When we think of the symbolic place these bodies occupy, we exercise our otherness and as consumers, creators and image researchers we are invited to question our own agency in breaking paradigms and reaffirm our vigilant stance in the face of any and all potential for freedom.