Lavagem

In Brazilian Portuguese, the word "lavagem" means cleanliness, the act of cleaning,
sanitation, but it also means pigs will. “Lavagem de dinheiro”, or money laundering, is
an expression used to disguise the illicit origin of revenues. “Lavagem cerebral”, or
brainwashing, is what you do to force someone to think a certain way. "Alma lavada",
or cleansed soul, means we have experienced great relief and now feel peaceful, with
no pending matters to resolve.

What actually needs to be cleaned? The houses, the dirt inside the rooms? The trails
left behind, the historical facts? The scents of body fluids, those we smell when we
come close to each other? Soap foam colors the bodies and hints at invisibility; bubbles
suggest a world of dreams, standing in stark contrast to the severe lack of social
mobility in the real world.

The audience may look at this piece from a pictorial point of view, but they might also
feel touched by issues relating to social status and hierarchy, destinies previously
traced, and opportunities.

By building a close relationship with the audience, this piece fosters the possibility of
finding new ways to establish contact between performers and spectators, proposing a
new experience of a shared space. Physical closeness can evoke claustrophobia, and
suggest concrete or symbolic tightness; but it can also present itself as a cozy womb,
where smells, skin textures, and the warmth that emanates from the bodies are
perceived.

"Lavagem" presents an ancestral past filled with struggles, but also with secrets about
joy and cheerfulness.
Credits