2022AUGUST PERFORMING SPACE WOMEN PERFORMANCE SHAPES THE WORLD
In perpetual movement Enlightened by the sun Surrounded by algae
By looking at women I saw That we resemble the sand under the sea
Aspiring while still grounded Yolanda, August 2022 UNDER THE SEA
2022 SAND
WOMEN PERFORMANCE SHAPES THE WORLD
A global project for the UN Secretariat I was leading as an architect consultant gave me the opportunity to travel, observe, analyze and document how the women of the world interact with the space they inhabit. I was fortunate to watch women in North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Being an architect should imply observing the performance of the individuals free of any stablished judgement, so that we can understand the environment these individuals generate.
WORLDTHESHAPESPERFORMANCEWOMEN 2022
It has been an enormous joy to observe and create an atlas of photos of the women of the world. By using an IPhone, I was able to capture images and ideas that went unnoticed to the main characters, the women.
From North Africa, going South below the Sahara, then East to South East Asia, crossing oceans to reach America and finally coming back to Europe, the answer seemed to have always been there. One woman, one world.
The essence of half of the Earth population is similar regardless of the place where they are born or live. Women are the main axis supporting societies worldwide: CaringWorkforceand assisting attitude Pushing to get things done Pulling to stay afloat Multiple Responsibilities- Layers EducationMaternity
THE GLOBAL ESSENCE OF WOMEN
What is the global essence of women?
2010-2022 PERFORMING SPACE GLOBAL ESSENCE
ASUNCIONHANOI,BANGKOK,LALIBELA,YEDIDA,EL 2019-2020
2013NAJ WORKFORCE FROM ENTOTO DOWN TO ADDIS ABABA
2019OCT
BANGKOK BY THE RIVER
2018NAJ
PUSHING TO GET THINGS DONE
PUBLIC SPACE
Women in the public space: our role depends greatly on the continent and the country. How the space transforms depending on the presence of women from a sometimes aggressive environment, when absent, to a gentle space when present.
Down the streets in the Medina of Fez or Meknes, only men approach us to become our guides. Most shops are tendered by men. However, in Rabat, girls run freely around the beach eating cotton candy in their bathing suits. In Lalibela, women dressed in white walk around the churches, are present in the markets, cook together in the streets and girls run with their origami windmills. In Nairobi, school girls walk from home down the dusty side walks. In Petra, women take selfies or ride horses and camels. In Doha, women walk in their Niqabs so we wonder what their smile will look like. Meantime, in Ayutayah, women street sellers smile happily while foreigners salute and in Hanoi, women do yoga in parks and squares. In Manhattan, women are too busy looking at their cell phones while walking down Midtown at a speedy pace. Back in Europe, women feel the public space belongs to us, despite the fact that at night we are not that happy to walk home alone.
How is the public space affected by women presence?
2019-2022 PERFORMING SPACE PUBLIC SPACE
MANILAAYUTAYAH,PETRA,LALIBELA,RABAT, 2016-2020
DOHAEYES,FEET AND HANDS 2018MAY
AYUTAYAH 2019JAN STREET SELLING
PLAYINGMANILAGUITAR INTRAMUROS MARCH 2019
NAIROBI OCT 2017 ALL DRESSED UP TO WALK THE CITY
2021JULY
2022JULY
TRANSPORTATIONviolence?
How come women feel sometimes unsafe if we are key players in the transport sector?
FromTransportationhowwomen transport ourselves to how we manage to transport all sorts of things and beings. From feeling safe or unsafe when moving around the cities to feeling the urgency and the need to transport food, water, wood, children In Africa, women use their bodies as a mean of transportation. They walk daily many km to provide. In the meantime, women in Morocco or Thailand ride their bicycles around the cities. And in Bangkok they use the public transportation to travel. How safe do we feel when we are in crowded cities and need to move around? How is it that it becomes necessary to create safe areas so that we don’t feel the threats of
2022SPACEPERFORMING
2019-2022 PERFORMING TRANSPORTATIONSPACE
MANILALISBOA,BANGKOK, 2018-2019
2019OCTOBER RIDING AND SMILING EL YEDIDA
2016MARCH
ON MY WAY TO GET SOME WATER
2018JUNE TRANSPORTING GOODS BANGKOK
2019JULY WALKING DOWN THE STREET MANILA
2028MAY RIDNG MY BIKE HANOI
NetworkingSorority
Friends since childhood, learning to strive together, to support each other and to smile back.
comes natural to women. Creating life lasting bonds, like spider nets of women connections worldwide. Physical nets in the markets, in the cities, among those that walk km to look for water together.
NETWORKING WORLDTHESHAPESPERFORMANCEWOMEN 2022
2019-2022 PERFORMING NETWORKINGSPACE
TANGERABABA,ADDISBANGKOK,LALIBELA,BARCELONA, 2015-2021
2018MAY FLOWERHANOIGIRL
2018AUG
2018MAY
FRIENDS WILL BE FRIENDS
2019MARCH
2019MARCH MANILA
WhenEqualitytraveling,
EQUALITY
I feel women are far from being equal to men. There is always a gap, a difference, a sense of not being treated in the same manner. Whether in Europe, Africa, America or Asia, there is still room for improvement. A fair and equal planet is our dream. Not that women express that desire in the same manner, but it is there, wherever women live, wherever women are born, whichever religion they profess.
2010-2022 PERFORMINGEQUALITYSPACE
TODRA GORGES
ADDIS ABABA
ADDIS ABABA
ADDIS ABABA
LALIBELA
LALIBELA
LALIBELA
RABAT
BERLIN
HANOI
PETRA
WASHINGTON DC
BILBAO
LISBOA
BANGKOK
MANILA
PERPETUAL MOVEMENT
