Las Sabinas
"Once upon a time, there were the Sabina women,
whose fight turned into stories,
which turned into myths,
which turned into movies,
which turned into artworks,
which turned into performances,
which turned into a chance meeting,
which led to a re-invasion of history.
A reason to join forces, bodies, art practices.”
Our collaboration developed through an obsession with the theme of the Abduction of the Sabine Women throughout art history. For us, this theme speaks broadly of conquest, colonisation, power relations, and the representation of women in art. But we're not making art about what happened in the 10th century BC; we are tackling themes that persist, and which still embody history in the present day.
Las Sabinas is a vehicle to question who tells the history: two women from different backgrounds and generations, but united as one historical entity with all the Sabinas. We research through performance, which we developed as a ritual, a persistent conversation that is still necessary.
Embracing a DIY approach, humour, absurdity, subversion, looping, re-purposing, we reuse materials, images, and gestures. Our intention is to occupy and intervene into the galleries, museums, institutions where representations of the Sabine women are hosted. In search of our sisters, we will rummage through archives to unearth, converse, and disturb, disrupting conventional modes of research to uncover the richness and diversity of Sabinas’ presence.
Chapter 4: We once found ourselves in Toronto, 2024
I wonder if they have Sabinas somewhere closer to here, like in Ontario.” “Yes, at the AGO they do, there is a tankard.” “What’s a tankard?” “It seems to be like a cup. With relief sculptures on it depicting what they call the abduction of the Sabine women.” “We need to conquer that.”, straw, Home Depot paper bag masked with green tape, lights, cameras, a green room, repetitive actions, mimicry of poses, laughter, climbing, trials and errors, ladders covered with green fabric, lots of hours at the computer for post-production, a string found at the bottom of the kitchen drawer that holds the bag together, bed sheets, belts, table, image of the tankard.
Chapter 3: We once found ourselves in Madrid, 2024
Performance residency - Chapter 3: We once found ourselves in Madrid, 2024
Performance Excerpt as part of the 5th edition of the renowned Embodied Interventions: The Tentacular inquiry of performance Organized by the LePARC Research Cluster in collaboration with student members and various clusters within the vibrant Milieux community
Chapter 1: One day, we found ourselves in Paris, 2023
Collaging, mixing Sabinas, coexisting, crossing generations. This video It’s about constrained movement, repetition, heritage, and translation. A still image, a series of movements doomed to be a loop.
Chapter 2: We once found ourselves in the Fall of the Roman Empire, 2023
Holding energy, playing with fire, glorifying, destroying and birthing at once. This piece touches on several ecological issues surrounding fire, the destruction of nature, the human vs. its actions. It engages with themes of ecofeminism, the climate crisis, and ancestral practices often associated with so-called “witches” women whose knowledge has long been dismissed or demonized. the work celebrates the collapse of empires built on violence, and honor the legacy of women as keepers and transmitters of transformative knowledge.
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Exhibitions
2025 Commencement Show, group exhibition of graduating students from the Department of Studio Arts / VAV Gallery, Montréal, QC
2025 Maureen X, group exhibition organized by the Master of Fine Arts Studio Arts Student Association / Fonderie Darling, Montréal, QC
2024 Maureen IX, group exhibition organized by the Master of Fine Arts Studio Arts Student Association / Ateliers Belleville, Montréal, QC
Performances
2024 Embodied Interventions - 5th EDITION: The Tentacular Inquiry of Performance, Milieux Institute / Concordia University, Montréal, QC
Talks
2023 Thinking Allowed Social Justice, Migration, and the Environment, Fall Colloquium, 4th Space / Concordia University, Montréal, QC