SHEMAMMAL

SHEMAMMAL is one episode of five in the experimental film series, SHEMAMMALtheseries. Each one features a different filmmaker and historic-industrial ruin in Puerto Rico investigating the interaction and engagement between the performer (la mamífera/ she mammal), the filmmaker, and the environment in which the work is taking place. By way of embodied research, this series experiments with body and space, ritual and fetish, séance and prayer excavating textures, relationships and story. SHEMAMMAL reaches into the imaginal, bringing forth the invisible through dialogue with the rift between the “civilized world” and nature, positing a future in which reconciliation is possible. Using her nude body in movement and a piece of artificial grass, she rescues, admonishes, arouses and hypnotizes, exhibiting the tensions between nature and ruins still standing as evidence of what we call “progress”, calling to action our need for deep adaptation in coming times. This episode takes place in an abandoned hangar from the 1940's located in Isla Grande, Puerto Rico that has since been torn down in order to build, ironically, a "Puerto Rican Hollywood".

Karen Langevin is a movement artist and Alexander Technique teacher. Her passion for the mind/body continuum infuses her art as improviser and her pedagogy as movement coach and AT teacher. Karen has a BA in Dance and Anthropology from Cal State Long Beach and her Alexander certification from ACAT. Her work has been presented in NYC, Arizona, Puerto Rico, Denver and Mexico and focuses on exploring connections between science, nature, presence, and community. She has received grants from the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico, The National Endowment for the Arts, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants, and commissions from the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico. Recent works include RE VIENTO (2018), FORTUNE (2019), PANDÉMICA aire, tierra, fuego y agua (2020-video), MAMÍFERA (2021) and MAMÍFERAenserie (2021-video). She lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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