“In this ‘digital territory’ geographical borders become dissipated, and the physical ones find multiple possibilities.”

 

Fronteiras: Território de Rupturas (Borders: Territory of Ruptures) is the joint research project of Amanda Gatti and Gustiele Fistaról. Their long-distance collaboration was developed in 2020 while they were in social isolation in different countries (Italy and Brazil).

Responding to the necessity to reinvent ways of creating collectively, and the ability of digital communication to by-pass physical boundaries, their research sought to expand their understanding of borders. While this is usually seen as a national (or global) issue that focuses on land ownership and geographical boundaries, Amanda and Gustiele also zoom in to the personal, to consider the intimate landscape of the body.

By bringing their physicality to the forefront of their research, they redirect our attention to consider where we encounter borders in our daily lives. Whether this is the ageing border between childhood and teenage years, or the space between what can and cannot be said.

 

 

GIF extract from video-performance

The video-performance, also titled Fronteiras: Território de Rupturas, brings together collected audio and fragmented moving parts of the body, to show the relationship between body, space and everything that crosses, or moves, between these boundaries.

Taking inspiration from philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s understanding of the term, Fronteiras: Território de Rupturas also interrogates the relationship between “borders” and “difference”, and how these can contribute to the formation of identity. For Deleuze, a border is constantly changing in space-time, like a continuous update that only happens when it is crossed and we experience the difference.

Amanda and Gustiele are drawing our attention to this moment of difference, which can happen physically, as we move through the world, but also mentally, in our personal understanding and through wider societal shifts in collective consciousness.

Their work invites you to see borders as an event; a place of communication, articulation, deconstruction and growth; and to recognise the complexities within ourselves, and the endless perspectives that create different points of view.

A collection of screenshots

For Digital Notes, Fronteiras: Território de Rupturas was shown alongside two other video works in a Shorts Screening on Thursday 8 April.

To get a sense of the live programme check out our highlights on Instagram.

You can continue to follow their ongoing research on their collective Instagram, Território de Rupturas.

 

Amanda is a multidisciplinary, Brazilian-Italian artist based in London. She graduated in Audiovisual Production: Cinema and Video at PUCRS / Brazil (2018) with academic mobility in Art History at University of Jaén / Spain (2017). She has worked as an actor-performer since 2010, working in more than 30 stage plays, 18 audiovisual projects (cinema, tv and video), as well as many other artistic projects as a filmmaker and casting director.

She has also worked as a voice actor, lending her voice to video games, podcasts, VR projects and educational videos. 
In addition to her career in Brazil, she has lived in Spain, Italy, and currently resides in England, this movement shows her interest in intercultural experiences and exchange.

 

 

 

Gustiele is a multidisciplinary Brazilian artist. She graduated in Theater by UERGS – Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul/ Brazil (2018) and works mainly as an actress, director and theater teacher. She is a member of the research group FLUME – Educação e Artes Visuais in which she investigates the connections between art and daily life based on the “infraordinary” concept.

In music, her vocal experience stands out, derived from theatrical techniques studied in the Physical and Vocal Training Workshop, held at the international research center Ponte dos Ventos, at Centro Cultural Sesc Paraty – RJ (2016). She is also the director and producer of the show “Estava em Minha Casa e Esperava que a Chuva Viesse”, which was nominated for the Prêmio Açorianos in the category “Revelation – Best Direction” in 2019.