I decided to share my love with you

2021-2022

Performance (15 min), textile, masks, silkscreen prints

Documentation photos: Roy Bjørge (Bergen), Daniela Toma (Tromsø) and Jacob Stærk (Ørsta)

I decided to share my love with you is a collaborative project by Kiyoshi Yamamoto and myself. Presented for the first time on the opening of Bergen Pride in June 2021, our goal was to raise money for Casa Nem, a non-profit organisation that shelters vulnerable queer and trans people in Rio de Janeiro. Every month, Casa Nem shares a list with the basic things they need in order to keep the house functioning. In a country where the life expectancy of a trans person is 35 years, having a place like Casa Nem brings a little hope to this community.

The performance took shape as a small-scaled carnivalesque parade in the city centre, finally arriving at the sculpture Benkene til Kim, where a text was read aloud accompanied by drumming. The text speaks about what it means to have privileges, and included a harsh criticism of president Jair Bolsonaro’s dangerous government during the pandemic, as well as a shopping list poem inspired by Casa Nem’s latest list. The performance also included drums and colourful costumes inspired by the Maracatu tradition of the state of Pernambuco. At the end of the reading, the participants of the performance – which included Kiyoshi and me – left the benches and walked back to the starting point of the parade. We stopped midway and revealed to the audience the back of our costumes, which also functioned as signage spelling out the word PRIVILEGE.

This project was curated by Maya Økland on the occasion of Lina Viste Grønli’s sculpture dedicated to Norwegian gay rights activist Kim Friele.

In July 2022, the work was presented at Sommarljom Festival, in Ørsta. This performance had a similar format to its first version, but with a longer parade (about half an hour) that went from the city centre to a boathouse, where the reading took place. The text, updated specifically for this performance, contained facts and criticisms regarding LGBTQ+ rights in Norway, and how the Norwegian government has been dealing with them for the past 50 years. The country is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of sexual activity between men this year, but there is still a lot to be done.

Click here to watch a drone footage of the parade in Ørsta: https://vimeo.com/735741230