Jéssica Lopes
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Portugal
Leonardo Rio

Actress, performer, teacher, and director. Her artistic approach is rooted in practice-based research, drawing from autobiography, testimonies, literature, cinema, photography, and painting. She graduated in Visual Arts from Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, in 2015; earned a degree in Theater from ESAD.CR, Portugal, in 2019; and obtained a Master's degree in Directing from ESTC, Portugal, in 2023. She attended the Writing for Interpreters and Creators course taught by Sara Carinhas at Academia Gerador in 2021. She interned at teatromosca in 2021. She participated in the My Documents workshop directed by Lola Arias at the Universität der Künste Berlin with the support of the GDA Foundation in 2022. She directed and performed in the shows: “Naquela parede branca pintei o meu medo azul” (2019); “Gaveta de memórias” (2020); “À procura da Primavera” (2021); “Cidade Solitária” (2022). As a performer, she participated in the following productions: “Máquina fotográfica” (2018) by Joana Craveiro; “Untitled, still life” (2022) by Ana Borralho & João Galante; “Ato III” (2023) by Tiago Vieira.

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Laboratory:
Show:
Leonardo Rio
Project
DESMANCHE

DESMANCHE is a raw, visceral, and urgent solo performance. It investigates abortion and the impact of this on the bodies of people with uteruses. The body is a territory of struggle and pain, exposed in both a brutal and subtle manner, addressing critical issues such as illegal abortion, obstetric violence, and conscientious objection. Between the grotesque and the poetic, DESMANCHE is a confrontational space where body, emotion, and movement intersect, creating a living, intense, disturbing, and profoundly human painting.

Starting from the term "desmanche" (dismantling), the project intertwines performance with real testimonies and documentary data, using nomenclature as a vehicle to explore concepts such as deconstruction, fragmentation, metamorphosis, transformation, transience, and ephemerality. In particular, the costume stands out as a metaphor, constructed in layers that will be gradually removed during the performance.

The aesthetic approach is inspired by the works of authors such as Paula Rego, Maria Teresa Horta, Frida Kahlo, Juanita McNeely, Kiki Smith, Julia Phillips, Barbara Kruger, among others. The performance thus directly engages with visual artworks and transcends the static plane of painting, unfolding into a score of movement that reinterprets and ephemeralizes them. It explores concepts such as the relationship of the body as space, text as body, body as painting, and painting as a score for movement.

During the Laboratory, the focus will be on developing the script and exploring bodily expression, integrating various disciplines: structuring narratives based on testimonies and research; exploring forms of expression through movement to translate experiences and emotions; using movement to communicate without words; and integrating visual and sound elements for a multisensory experience that confronts the audience with fears and stigmas surrounding abortion.

DESMANCHE emerges as a crucial response in a context where demagogic discourses are rising, threatening democracy and human rights. In Portugal, although abortion is partially legal, numerous barriers persist, amplifying the need for dialogue and reflection, thus combating misinformation.