La Pocha Nostra Performs at MOCCA: A Radical Critique of Colonial Relations

Abstract

Divino Corpo is the latest piece by the international performance troupe La Pocha Nostra, performed in 2008 at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA). The performance is configured as a living diorama with the audience standing in the middle of the gallery looking out at scenes located on all four sides of the room. At one end, there is a body covered by a Canadian flag. At another, there is a man wearing nothing but a camouflage headband and a diaper made of gauze. The middle of the diaper is painted red, as are his limbs. Beside him stands a glamorous woman with platinum blond hair in a tight black dress. Across from them, a man in a drag and wearing a tribal headdress, sits on a chair. A naked woman pulls a rope to which he is attached. A woman in a silver cardboard corset inhabits the final side of the stage. The area around her stomach is translucent, and inside we see red. Her “set,” if you will, is a tall wooden post and a small stand bearing a cross. The audience stands squished together in the middle of the room. We manoeuvre around each other to watch the performances. Sadly, this hinders our ability to see, but it also heightens our awareness of each other and of our own bodies. We, too, are part of this performance.