Nao Bustamante

Nao Bustamante's Test Shoot, for the bullet-proof dress she produced "Tierra y Libertad - Kevlar 2945" inspired by a picture of armed women soldiers, opens with a provocative question: How would a woman fighting in the Mexican Revolution stand up to the weaponry of 1910, if she were clad in an Edwardian combat dress made of bullet resistant Kevlar®? Said dress. yellow with flower ornament, is hung outside in the snowy land and shot from distance. First bullet, second bullet, third bullet. What seems like a reimagination of fight unveils as an investigation on how to protect vulnerable bodies without enacting more harm. - Innas Tsuroiya

In arguably her most widely seen ‘performance’ Nao created the character of “Rosa” the exhibitionist, to appear on the Joan Rivers Show in 1992. Sandwiched between a binocular-toting Manhattan voyeur and a naughty public access TV actress, “Rosa” described her lifestyle as a “stunt exhibitionist”. Unbeknownst to the audience, the “Rosa” character was mostly a fabrication, allowing Nao to roll out a kinky sex-positive spin, mindtripping Middle America while those in the know basked in the televised glow of her performance art prank. Based on the experience, Nao later constructed the video/performance “Rosa does Joan” for Artists Television Access in San Francisco.

Indigurrito is Nao Bustamante's contribution to the many performances that commemorated the 500 anniversary of the conquest of America. The title mixes the term "indigenous" with "burrito," the name of the famous Mexican wrap. In the performance, Bustamante challenged the white men in the audience to go onstage to express their apologies for the years of oppression of indigenous peoples by eating a piece of a burrito that Bustamante had strapped on to her hips. With humor and sarcasm, Bustamante addressed the issues that the 500-year commemoration brought to collective attention. Her piece also denounces how art institutions forced artists to pay tribute to the date if they wanted to get funding.