“What we deserve” is a performance protest piece inspired by the performance/bodywork of Letitia Parente (Marca registrada, 1975), Diamela Eltit (Zona de dolor, 1981), Ana Maria Maoliano (É o que sobra) and Sonia Andrade (Untitled, 1974-1977). These pieces were made in protest of the violence the dictatorships in Brazil (1964-1985) and Chile (1973-1990) inflicted on their citizens to crush any opposition. During this time, marginalized communities, such as the black population in Brazil, experienced increased violence and repression.
However, this violence and anti-blackness did not begin with the dictatorship. Paintings such as Shoe Shop by Jean-Baptiste Debret (made before 1830) construct an aesthetic identity for black people that only involves hard manual labour and suffering. Thus upholding the notion that “the only existence allowed for blacks was that of the silent hardworker. This idea was familiar to me as it is pushed across the world: the expectation that as a black person, you are built to work hard, that as a black African your wellbeing and health are easily sacrificed. The idea that black people can handle more pain, that they are stronger, that they do not need care. The tradition of black people giving so much to the world without credit (Heitor dos Prazeres originating Carnaval) and the expectation that we should be happy about all of this. “What we deserve” protests and refuses this idea and chooses instead to imagine gentle, humanizing, caring existences for black people…thus the title, because this is “What we deserve” recognizing that this is the opposite of what the world has given us.
Music: "While your were sleeping" by Annahstasia
Filmed and edited by Nyamai Muchilwa
