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Troca-trocas

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Troca-trocas is a curatorial platform aimed at researching artistic practices, aspects of vernacular culture and both legal and activist agendas that work with the construction of gender and sexuality within the context of the politics of representation and social participation of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgenders in Rio de Janeiro. Through public and private encounters, workshops, exhibitions and publications, troca-trocas will facilitate ‘exchanges of knowledge’ (troca-trocas de conhecimento) with local artists, cultural agents, scholars, politicians and activists. At a historical moment where the Gay International’s globalizing formats of ethics and identification - such as "Gay pride" and "LGBT” as a uniforming label - are adopted in different local contexts around the world, troca-trocas deals with practices that re-imagine the construction of gender and sexuality in the public sphere of Rio de Janeiro. “Troca-trocas” is Portuguese for "exchanges". In the male gay slang of Brazil it refers to "fucking equally", where he who receives also gives and he who gives also receives. However, in the general Brazilian slang, "troca-trocas" also describes the experiences of sexual discovery and experimentation during childhood.

 

Troca-troca # 1: On vernacular gestures and an academic research

One morning, walking through the streets of Rio de Janeiro I found two different types of vernacular manifestations of male homosexuality: one was a simple engraved graffiti of a heart that declared the love between two boys (Mario and Diogo) and the other was a used condom laying on the ground of Flamengo beach park, a cruising spot for men who desire men. The first was a sign with a significance standing between 'the cute' and 'the countercultural', that also seemed to be celebrating monogamy, while the other was sign of collective and ‘clandestine’ sexuality.

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Troca-troca # 2: Alexandre Vogler

When searching for living artists in Rio whose practice could be placed within the parameters of Troca-trocas, I was caught up by the work of Alexander Vogler (Rio de Janeiro, 1975), who for the past years has dealt with issues that construct the collective imagery of his context; let it be by making a mockery of a zeppelin launched in 2002 by the governor of Rio de Janeiro as a surveillance strategy to help police battle violence (Olho grande, 2002) or by revealing the non secular moralist government of a city with an evangelic majority, who upraised radically against a large size drawing on a nearby mountain that almost led to the artists’ imprisonment (Tridente de Nova Iguacu, 2006). www.alexandrevogler.com

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Troca-trocas #3: Workshop

A fundamental part of Troca-trocas is to ‘exchange knowledge’ and to make this happen a series of workshops have been organized by Capacete Entretenimentos (http://www.capacete.net), who out of an open call selected a small group of local curators as participants.

The group includes: Daniela Labra from Artesquema (http://www.artesquema.com), Marcia Ferran (Architect & Urbanist), Ivana Monteiro from A Gentil Carioca (http://www.agentilcarioca.com.br), Kristofer Paetau (Artist), Alerxandre Sa (Artist), Daniella Mattos and Guilherme Bueno.

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