It was about a year ago when I first met Antonio Branco & Riccardo T. – a super unique and mesmerising performance art duo and couple based in London. I have experienced three of their shows now – all over the capital from iconic spaces such as Egg London, to renowned Mayfair art galleries and intimate performance spaces in East. With each show, they bring dedication to their form and a sense of surreal realism that has really not really been present in recent times with the current evolution of culture. Their raw performances are hypnotic with or without sound, and that is what I feel really makes a great performance artist. I was able to ask Antonio Branco & Riccardo T. some questions about their artistry that I am honoured to share with you below with images by the brilliant Ava Fersi.
Tell me about your work – the ethos and constructs that you work with to create your art?
António: Our work is all about the body, what it represents and means, its physicality, aura, psyche and identity. It is our ultimate instrument and space to perform in and with. We don’t think there will ever be enough people looking at and exploring the body and humanity, how we’ve been and how we will be, or should be.
When creating we want to change, and liberate ourselves, and hopefully by extension to affect those who witness our pieces.
Riccardo: At the moment, we are very obsessed with contemporary sexuality. Sex as a freedom that we are yet to reclaim. See, freedom of speech and all these other basic human rights have been reconquered to a certain extent, but society in general is very very comfortable denying their own sexuality. So much oppression in today’s world is based on shame about sex, the oppression of women, cultural and sexual minorities, the oppression of families. And it affects everyone, we have all learnt that our bodies, desires and sexuality are all shameful. It’s very important to deprivatise sex, and for that we make activism of our art.
A: We once read something by Guillermo Gómez Peña and Roberto Sifuentes, they’re both South American performing artists that said something like:
‘With our work we care about getting people to reconnect with the forgotten zones of their psyches and bodies, and to understand the possibilities of their own freedoms. And that as artists we must be the reminder of all the possibilities of every being: artistic, political, sexual, spiritual, etc.’
We really identify with this and feel it really explains our intentions with our art.
What does performance feel like for you experientially?
R: That’s a tough one. I think every performance is different, experientially. I believe that while performing we get in contact with our concept of immanence, as we are completely connected with our bodies in a specific time and space, and somehow this connection becomes almost transcendental, at least for us performing. At the same time we gather the energy of the room we are in, of the people watching, and we need to remember that every audience is a different one, and that they carry different energies to the room, thus giving another shade and feeling to what we are doing, and how we are being seen and experienced by them.
How do you want your expression to translate in your audience’s reaction?
A: Probably what most artist do. We want people to feel amazed, uncomfortable, wowed, and challenged while watching. But most importantly we want them to question everything afterwards. We want them to take what they saw, what we presented and question their own experiences and aspects of their lives. To maybe change.
R: To free themselves of ideas that are not their own. Those ideals they have not yet understood they didn’t choose, simply because they’ve never questioned them before. Because they’re normal ideas, they are common sense, and everybody knows that.
A: Now, we are not perfect and we are not here to guide people and liberate them. We do have privileges, and we are aware of them. All we can do is show them what we think and how we are transforming ourselves, and present that as a possibility, one that may have been denied to them.
R: It’s about opening possibilities, it’s about questioning what could be and what is already there. This is how we hope to change the world.
Talk to me about how you work as individuals and a joint entity in your projects?
A: We see our work as a constant collaboration. Being a duo (both in performance and life) means that we are constantly immersed in our practice. We’ve been working together for 5 years now, and we noticed how our ideas and concepts are coming closer to each other.
R: However we started separating some aspects of our practice, based on what we prefer to do or what we are more gifted at.
We approach performance in very different ways. I’m the more the academic one, while Antonio is more in charge of the manual making of props and sculptures for our performances. We are both dreamers though.
What three fundamental issues with society do you want to address – through your work or otherwise?
R: First of all the patriarchal system needs to change. We need to realise our construct to then be able to change it. We urgently need to realise and accept that loads of our convictions and beliefs are based on a westernised, colonialist, racist, and patriarchal view of the world.
Going with that, we would say we need to realise that there’s something not working in our neoliberal and capitalistic society, and something in that needs change as well. We are in a inhabitable and more than that unsustainable system.
A: Although we do realise that as artists we are the final emblem of capitalism and neoliberalism.
Third, sex, it needs to be freed. Once people start reconnecting with their bodies and sexuality non shamefully a lot in the world will change for the better.
How do you feel that queer art translates into the mainstream views and how do you feel this is evolving?
A: Well Queer view points have been translating into the mainstream forever now. More so than society is comfortable with being aware of or admitting. And it will continue now more than ever. In one way it’s good cause it normalises marginalised identities, the problem is that most of the times when this happens these ideas are edited to conform and be “acceptable”, they become almost heteronormative. And that’s the ultimate cultural appropriation.
R: However we do still think its good, and it always is a step towards equality.
A: But yeah the future is Queer, no doubt about that. At least if we want a good happy future.
The aim of Antonio Branco and Riccardo T. is to create new knowledge both for their performers and audience, incorporating concepts of identity, mystery, playfulness, wonder and a profound sense of presence in the world that each performance creates.
Their next performance is 9th May at YKK London Showroom in collab with Jo Cope (@jocopeconceptualfashion) for London Craft Week. They are also working on a new video art piece that will hopefully be ready after Summer. You can learn more about Antonio Branco & Riccardo T. here.