SUJETKA VAL


Lima, Peru 1996
Lives and works
in Brooklyn, New York





Sujetka is a queer multidisciplinary artist born in Lima, Perú, and currently based in New York City. Through Performance and Installation, she explores the dynamics of the 'gaze' and body perception within repressive structures, with a particular focus on the experience of language. She began her art studies in 2014 at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and continued at the Institute of Contemporary Visual Arts, Corriente Alterna, until the end of 2019. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions at renowned institutions across Perú, New York City, and Spain. Currently, she is a permanent member of the Argentina Performance Art Archive platform.





Economy of Big Dreams (2024)
Performance
This performance was part of the exhibition “Through Thought” curated by Bebe Uddin


This durational performance spans a standard eight-hour workday, reflecting a cyclical system of the challenge on securing basic needs.

The piece examine into the dynamics of labor, survival, instability, and capitalism.

* https://vimeo.com/1025997970 (complete video)




Economy of Big Dreams (2024)
Performance Record

Graphite and fountain ink on cold press paper, heavyweight, acid-free, 300 g/m2

22.9 x 30.5 cm
Edition 5 of 5




You Are Right (2024)
Performance
This performance was part of EMERGENYC '24 fellowship organized by the Brooklyn Art Exchange (BAX)

The use of guilt as a tool to control and influence behavior is a phenomenon observed in various contexts, especially in situations where there are power imbalances or emotional dependency.

Responses to these situations develop, and these internalized behaviors persist when establishing new relationships. This creates malleable bodies that are subject to manipulation by any authority figure to obtain desired approval. Often, people who have learned these mechanisms self-punish by assuming guilt before confronting the situation, which influences the normalization of responsibility for actions not committed or acceptance of mistreatment received.

“I'm sorry” is the escape,
the trap, the refuge, the shield,
and the prison of language.




You Are Right (2024) 

Performance Record

Graphite, fountain ink and colored pencils on cold press paper, heavyweight, acid-free, 300 g/m2
22.9 x 30.5 cm
Edition 5 of 5





The Disenchantment (2) (2024)
Performance
This performance It was part of the exhibition “Rebirth of a body” curated by Natacha Voliakovsky and organized by Argentine Performance Art (APA) next to New York Latin American Art Triennial (NYLAAT)

This Performance opens the discussion about the concept of the “American Dream” in parallel with labor exploitation, the service industry and consumerism.




The Disenchantment 1 (2023) 
Performance Record

Graphite, fountain ink and pen on Cold Press paper, Heavyweight, acid-free, 300 g/m2
22.9 x 30.5 cm
Edition: 50 in color (for each USA state) + 5 black and white (for each inhabited unincorporated territory)




The Disenchantment (1) (2024)
Performance
This performance was part of the exhibition “NOMADIC: Performance Art & Territoriality” curated by Héctor Canonge




The Disenchantment 1 (2023)
Performance Record

Graphite, fountain ink and pen on cold press paper, heavyweight, acid-free, 300 g/m2
22.9 x 30.5 cm
Edition 5 of 5




Serve with a Smile (2023)
Performanc
This performance was part of the Exhibition “Feminist Projection” by Ana de Orbegoso

This performance invites us to confront the service industry as a reflection of a mechanized system. It represents how certain behaviors within the industry, such as power differences, sexism, and harassment, constitute a nonstop battle, often justified as valid due to the paycheck. This struggle also operates hand in hand with individuals tirelessly working to satisfy customers within a tip-based wage system, reinforcing a sense of obligation to tolerate inappropriate behavior to secure their livelihoods.

* https://vimeo.com/854479906 (complete video)




Declaración irrevocable de voluntad (2021)
Performance

This performance was selected as a finalist for Contemporary Art Prize ICPNA 2021 curated by Miguel A. López

This empirical research evaluates and emphasizes the boundaries and behavior around fragility while testing the degree of agreement between the observer and the observed.

The long line of people waiting to enter the space, weaving through ceramics and paintings, remains the central focus of the piece.

 
Declaración Irrevocable de Voluntad (2024)
Performance Record

Graphite on cold press paper, heavyweight, acid-free, 300 g/m2
22.9 x 30.5 cm
Edition 5 of 5




Permiso para disparar (2019)
Performance


This piece is based on the book 'The Woman Who Looks at Men Who Look at Women' by Siri Hustvedt. It explores ideas from Susan Sontag about the distance from the body for the production of desire, as well as concepts of Jacques Derrida's 'trembling' regarding the performativity of the body's involuntary impulses resulting from experiencing an event that generates post-traumatic stress.

We rely on these layers to connect the gaze to cultural and linguistic structures. This situation prompts us to question the conventional passive-abusive attitude of individuals within our society that silently affects the collective unconscious.





Acotación (2017 / 2018)
Installation/ Sculpture
Variable measurement