Maria de los Guardias.

Maria de los Guardias is a visual artist and filmmaker from Bogota, Colombia who brought her intriguing and fascinating performance Oda Al Cuerpe Humano (Ode To The Human Body) and virtual reality experience Del Páramo El Mar (From The Moor to the Sea) to El Armario in Brooklyn.

As we sat and enjoyed non-alcoholic craft cocktails and delicious Latin American food from new concept La Sobria (see lasobria.nyc on Instagram) Maria invited us to don a virtual reality headset and enter a peaceful woodland environment where we were surrounded by 6 different characters each moving and communicating with each other on a celebration of the human body. Each character wore a different costume with headdress and body piece complimenting the flowing movements and artistic expressions on display.

Once the experience ended we were transported back to the cosy and sumptuous surroundings of El Armario where the costumes were on display and we were invited to get involved and try on any pieces we liked. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience to wear the costumes alongside other members of the audience in a safe and friendly environment, together feeling free to explore how each costume fitted the body.

We were then treated to a performance by Maria herself, bringing another dimension to the experience with an interpretive dance and movement that was both fascinating and enchanting to observe.

After her short visit to New York, Maria is heading to Europe for a series of performances. You can follow her on Instagram (guardiasmaria) to see more of her amazing work.

El Armario is a beautifully alternative art space in Brooklyn which hosts a variety of events and productions throughout the year. For more information follow el.armario.nyc (https://instagram.com/el.armario.nyc) on Instagram.