Abstract

In this article, we elaborate on the video performance Mimoso, created by Juliana Notari in 2014 in the Global South. This performance makes a strong criticism of the established cruelty—on humans and nonhumans—owing to the presence of an idea of coloniality of power. Indeed, we propose here an analysis of this video in order to identify the main allusions to trauma and violence historically and socially inflicted on women; considering also the speeches of the artist herself. At the heart of our approach is the concept of intersectionality insofar as it seeks to understand the complexity of power relations, as well as their impact on struggles for social justice. The concept of partial object also appears to be relevant. This concept comes from Freudian conceptions and is used to describe objects intended for units of partial use, that is, they do not imply a total but only a partial use of the object. Typically, these partial objects relate to real or phantom body parts, as well as enunciate their symbolic equivalents. Finally, we cannot fail to align this article with Simmel’s problematizations on tragedy in culture that will provide the basis for the approach to ecology, nature, and feminism. The methodological approach is that of intensive case studies using techniques of document and visual analysis applied to the video performance Mimoso and to the concomitant interview that Juliana Notari granted us.