Fora

Published on 22 October 2024

Contorting herself in the tightest of spots. Struggling, then escaping. In this solo performance, Alice Rende harnesses her incredible flexibility to excel in two disciplines: enterology (the art of fitting one’s body into unusual or very small spaces) and escapology (the art of escape).

The artist appears imprisoned in a Plexiglas box. Tirelessly, she climbs up and down, crushing her body up against the transparent surface. She spares no effort as she rises up and sometimes even levitates.

Once she emerges, she is torn between the fear of discovering herself to be monstrous and the surprise of being transformed. Yet, nonetheless, she continues to defy these walls.

In Portuguese, Fora means “outside”. In this performance, that word embodies the quest for freedom.

Through her company Ar, which has been based in Aix-en-Provence since 2022, Alice Rende works on contortion as a sensory act that is capable of questioning and transforming the constraints people are subjected to and how these constraints manifest themselves in our bodies.