Balé literal, by Laura Lima is a performative, theatrical and architectural work composed of a multiplicity of items in the form of sculptures, paintings and other objects. Performed for the first time in 2019, Balé literal was presented on a single night at A Gentil Carioca, an art gallery in downtown Rio de Janeiro. The work was installed in the gallery’s two townhouses on opposite sides of a crossroads. Two bicycles were placed in the buildings, and the force generated by the pedals moved the wire on which the works and objects were displayed. In 2023, a second version of Balé literal was mounted, with a structure adapted to fit inside MACBA.
This publication starts with a long visual journey that functions as an immersive walk through the universe that Laura Lima proposes in this ‘gigantic, infinite and counter-monumental work’, as she puts it. The book includes a conversation between Elvira Dyangani Ose and Laura Lima, as well as two essays by Tania Rivera and Marcia Tiburi that enable us to interpret the work in relation to the political context of Brazil, while also giving us some clues about the concepts and strategies that the artist brings into play when activating all the machinery that surrounds Balé literal. The publication also includes a description and visual references of all the elements that make up the installation of Balé literal.
