Banho de Descarrego
Hemisferic Institute for Performance and Politics
Banho de Descarrego is a Brazilian performance that stages the removal of fascist ideologies and practices from the social body through the public washing of painted bodies covered in swastikas. As a political intervention, the action seeks to provoke poetic and critical estrangement in public space, enacting resistance to the far right’s discriminatory, neo-fascist policies in Brazil under President Bolsonaro, in the US under President Trump, and around the globe.
Conceived by artists/professors Marcelo Denny and Marcos Bulhões of the University of São Paulo, this action was performed in the city of Natal, Brazil, in October 2018. The title refers to a ritual bath that washes away negative energies—a practice that is widespread in Brazilian popular culture. The performance creates a powerful visual narrative that provokes a perceptive shock to passers-by and to those who encounter its images and videos online. It enacts the possibility of reversing and defeating the escalating racism, fascism, and xenophobic violence of our time.
“Banho de Descarrego: An Anti-Fascist Urban Performance,” to be held in Washington Square Park, NYC, on September 6, 2019. Preparations for the action will begin at 9:30 am at the Hemispheric Institute, and the action itself will take place at 3pm.
Conceived by artists/professors Marcelo Denny and Marcos Bulhões of the University of São Paulo, this action was performed in the city of Natal, Brazil, in October 2018. The title refers to a ritual bath that washes away negative energies—a practice that is widespread in Brazilian popular culture. The performance creates a powerful visual narrative that provokes a perceptive shock to passers-by and to those who encounter its images and videos online. It enacts the possibility of reversing and defeating the escalating racism, fascism, and xenophobic violence of our time.
“Banho de Descarrego: An Anti-Fascist Urban Performance,” to be held in Washington Square Park, NYC, on September 6, 2019. Preparations for the action will begin at 9:30 am at the Hemispheric Institute, and the action itself will take place at 3pm.
