Justiça

In Justiça  (Justice), the artist embodies the iconic figure of Lady Justice—blindfolded, upright, and holding the symbolic scales. But instead of serene balance, the performance unfolds in disruption and collapse. Behind the performer, a video plays featuring a speech by Michel Temer, the former Brazilian president who participated in the ousting of Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president. His words—echoing misogyny, political betrayal, and authoritarian rhetoric—fill the space.

As the speech progresses, the body of “Justice” begins to falter. She trembles, stumbles, falls, over and over, enacting the physical undoing of a system meant to stand for fairness and integrity. The performance transforms into a visceral protest, exposing the fragility and performativity of justice in a corrupted democracy.

But collapse is not the end. Rising from the ground, the performer breaks the silence with a bold, unwavering declaration: “I want a dyke for president.” Reclaiming voice, presence, and power, the performance reimagines justice—not as blind neutrality, but as fierce, queer, embodied resistance. It challenges the audience to rethink who is truly fit to lead, and what real justice could look like when it is no longer in service of patriarchal power.

Presented as part of “What’s Going On, Brazil?” at Sari-Sari – Berlin, Germany, on November 1st, 2017.

Images:© Fridel Teicke & Fernanda Peruzzo