Mobile Mirrors
16.09.2018

Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen (b. Manila, Philippines, 1970, lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark) uses the body, usually her own but sometimes the bodies of family and friends, in order to comment on the social constructions that exist in society with regard to gender and cultural, religious and ethnic identity. Her practice consists mainly of theatrical performances before a live audience, for which she writes the words and music herself and designs the sets and costumes. Rasmussen’s starting point is always her own Filipino–Danish background. By taking on many roles in her performances, she tries both to be a spokesperson for oppressed voices and to express her own position in the world: she constantly has to adapt to situations and environments in which she does not feel entirely at home. Personal observations and experiences serve as a basis for telling universal stories about functioning in a performance-oriented, market-driven consumer society, in which people have to conform or be sidelined.
The audience is often involved in her performances in a playful way, or invited to take action themselves. In this way, Rasmussen forces the viewers of her work to become aware of their own position in relation to others within the large constructed system that we call society.

For Brief Encounters, Rasmussen proposed a new version of her 2012 performance Mobile Mirrors, a work previously performed in various forms in Lulea (Sweden), Cairo, Manila, Stockholm and New York. For Lustwarande, she conceived a new composition and choreography. Six performers, including Rasmussen, were dressed in tight-fitting, body-enveloping costumes, covered from head to toe in mirror shards, like on a disco ball. The performers moved after one another through the wood, imitating the actions of the performer in front of them. Instead of being able to see themselves, they reflected only the surrounding nature and the people watching them. Mobile Mirrors (2018) literally held up a mirror to viewers and passers-by, a mirror, however, that was mobile and completely fragmented, causing people and surroundings to be reflected in a splintered form.

choreography
Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen

performers
Yuri Bongers
Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen
Lucas Devroe
Nataly Milena Orozco Mercado
Emilia Sølvsten
Maia Sørensen

costumes
Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen