Speak with my hands, Telma Hoyler, 2023

Speak with My Hands is part of the exhibition Living Democracy in the Brunei Gallery, London (12 January – 16 March 2023), curated by Richard Axelby and Shirley van der Maarel and part of the GRNPP Research Network.

In this appropriation video the artist cuts interviews given by Brazilian politicians since 1989 – a year marked by the first direct presidential election after a period of military dictatorship. By framing the hands and subtracting the sound, the artist creates a dance of successive oratorical gestures of argumentation and persuasion. The spectator is invited to identify the ideological orientation of the politicians, guess what they are talking about, and determine how persuasive they might be. 

The video was first presented in 2023 during the Exhibition “The rule and the Exception”, produced by the artist and curated by Erica Burini in the Atelie397 Gallery in São Paulo, Brazil.

About Living Democracy Exhibition

Since 2019 a team of ethnographers have been researching the relationship between politicians and those they claim to represent in Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, the UK, and the US. This exhibition is a collection of their work displayed at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS University of London from the 12th of January to the 16th of March 2024.