Family Sha-la-la

Cuenca Rasmussen often takes her Danish-Filipino heritage as her starting point when exploring the foundations of identity and gender. In the video FAMILY SHA-LA-LA she stages herself and her family. Dressed alike, the family performs a less-than-perfect choreography to a classic pop song. The lack of co-ordination within a group is typical of Cuenca Rasmussen’s universe, in which everyday, slightly awkward situations take on much more wide-ranging implications. In the video work ABSOLUTE EXOTIC she presents, with poetic roughness and wry irony, the prejudices and personal expectations associated with her “exotic” identity. Wearing a Hawaiian costume she dances and sings her own rap song in which private confessionals become inserted within an overall socio-cultural pattern.