No. 4 - Cecilia Carvalhal, “It’s Natural” - Performance

Chills. Utter devoted attention. A viewing of “Its Natural” a piece of inter-medial performance art by Cecilia Carvalhal performed at the University of Maine September 2025. I am writing about this work after almost a week of experiencing it, and I am still consumed with thoughts about the powerful emotions evoked from the performance.

The work starts with a pair of seemingly alive pieces of sculpture, a long sleeved top and pants. But these items are only familiar due to shape, they don't appear inviting to wear. In fact it seems almost impossible to fit a body inside of them. They have a rigid form that seems rough upon touch. They stand like lone haunting figures beneath a harsh white spot light with two pedestals, one smaller and one larger one, positioned as a single step. The performer appears from the darkness beyond the light and steps on top of the larger pillar and takes their position. Covered in a nude bodysuit they sit beneath the harsh white light and pull their knees to their chest and lower their head. The room held a collective breath as we watched the pieces of sculpture and the actor exist in the same space. 

In this moment the title was floating behind my vision, “It’s Natural”. Something natural seems to relate to something organic. Yet we are sat in a concrete building, with harsh artificial lighting and a complete removal from the outdoors. Rather unnatural. 

Then the performer moves, they reach for the top piece and attempt to pull it over their body. It was seemingly impossible but yet here it was happening, the rigid structure was pulled and broken to fit around the actors body. The sound of bone breaking echoed through the space, but it wasn’t bone. It was the form of the top that restricted the movement and ability of the actor. The sound was visceral. The pieces of broken body and form flew about the room like shards of the human identity were slicing through the air. After what felt like at least an hour the top finally fit onto the actor's body. They were visibly tired from pushing and pulling this rigid form. They stood and then attempted to put the pants on. It was hard to watch and yet, I wasn’t able to look away. It felt like there was a need to witness the very physical struggle of what this actor put themselves through. After eventually getting the pants on, which felt at times dangerous, the pedestal beneath them wobbled due to the shifting weight and uncertain movements of the performer. 

There was a rooted want to sturdy pillars beneath their feet, to prevent harm from the performer during their struggle. But to interfere felt to taint the important work unfolding in front of me. The performer then stood and wiped their brow and began to perform within the performance. They contorted themselves in a variety of poses and placements that all seemed incredibly uncomfortable and difficult to put themselves into and take themselves out of. It was unnerving but captivating. The performance conduced when the performer simple stated, “The end”. 

The performance may have end when the performer claimed the end but what the intent behind this work is will never end. The rigid form of the work represented the placement of identity and self within the confines of society. The unbalanced nature of self and identity has posed many questions to artists and they respond with their work. Cecilia Carvalhal placed themselves within this question and personified the difficulty and struggles with the sense of self and identity some battle with. The representation of this struggle is one of many communities and it is situated in a way that pushes the understanding and expectations of society and what those expectations and standards impose on one's body, self, and placement within that environment.

I simply didn’t want to miss even a second of this work and am interested to see how its existence moves within this greater dialogue of which its subject is addressing.