Vienna Queer Performance Festival – Interview with Maurício Ianês

Denise sat with Maurício Ianês in a cafe in Vienna and spoke about a range of topics including evolving in queerness, the importance of language, examining one’s position and more. This discussion critiques the commodification of queerness and its implications for queer people throughout the world. Maurício Ianês performed as part of the S_P_I_T Queer Performance Festival Vienna.

Maurício Ianês (born in Santos, São Paulo – Brazil, in 1973), currently works and lives in São Paulo. Ianês graduated in Fine Arts at the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado – FAAP – in 1998. Ianês’ works focuses on questioning the limits and possibilities of verbal and artistic languages, its social and political functions. By opening many of his works to the active participation of the public, thus creating situations of social exchange where language and its social developments come into play, Ianês tries to bring to surface the established functioning of the system of art and its ideological undercurrents. Through this open dialogue with the public proposed in his actions, Ianês proposes a dismantling of the hierarchic power relations that are at play in the relationship between artist, public and art institutions. This is a central issue in his recent work. Ianês has presented his works in important local and international exhibitions, such as “Il cotello nella carne”, PAC Milan (2018), “Terra Comunal”, SESC Pompéia, São Paulo (2015), “Des Choses en Moins, Des Choses en Plus”, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2014), France; “Avante Brasil”, KIT – Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf, Germany (2013); “O Nome”, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2013), “Chambres Sourdes”, at the Parc Culturel de Rentilly, France (2011); the 28th and 29th International São Paulo Biennials (2008 and 2010), São Paulo, Brazil

Podcast: Play in new window | Download