Prazeres (pra-zayre-rees)

My work is about transition, in-betweenness, and being an immigrant or other in both old spaces and new, a self-imposed exile.

Soccer—futebol—is deeply ingrained in Brazilian psyches. Identity, relationships, loyalty, skill, and love are all on display. Loss is built in, too, as any fan knows well. For that reason, I use the soccer field—its touch, goal, and penalty lines—as the space to explore grief, testosterone, sex, and pleasure. "Am I Brazilian enough? Am I butch or male enough? Who is watching and who is playing?" Aesthetically, I’m drawn to symmetry and geometry, but often only feel like a piece is done when those confines have been broken, the lines redrawn, and new space found.

I explore the many nuances of genders and place identities through layers and portals, with (hard) concrete, (soft) pink, (fragile) paper, and (precise) letterpress printing. In this collection, the search for queer pleasure–prazeres–on the beaches of Pernambuco and Provincetown, is connected through plays and passes.