Takashi Tajima | KYOTO EXPERIMENT Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival 2025 ⑥ Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas “I Am Not a Unicorn” (Part 1)
Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas’s performance piece, “I Am Not a Unicorn,” explores resistance to categorization and self-affirmation through poetry, video, and performance.Summary
Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas’s “I Am Not a Unicorn” examines the rejection of being unilaterally categorized by others and the search for a way to positively reaffirm oneself, using the symbol of the unicorn. The performance features Cadenas wearing a unicorn mask, expressing the oppression of losing one’s voice and the dismissive gaze towards minorities in society. Simultaneously, she attempts self-redefinition and resistance to norms and power through poetic language. The Spanish rap section presents the difficulty of fully understanding others through the heat of an untranslatable language, offering the audience a new perspective. This article is part one, with part two planned to further explore the self-affirming power through references to Rebecca Horn’s work and the metaphor of the vampire.
(Source：artscape)