The Muted Saints
Jota Mombaça

The Muted Saints is a site-responsive opera in three acts that dwells in the liminal space between lake and land. It departs from Mombaça’s 2023 short story Stuck in Movement (in the Tide), in which the protagonist experiences a transition from a human existence towards a geological one. Performed at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies’ Hallam Lake Nature Preserve, The Muted Saints explores the resonances between body and planet, provoking a profound reconsideration of the limits of human subjectivity in the apprehension of the current climate catastrophe.

Jota Mombaça is a Brazilian interdisciplinary artist whose work encompasses poetry, drawing, performance, installation, sound, and video. Informed by anti-colonial critique and queer studies, much of their work delves into the continuing traumas of the Transatlantic slave trade and the escalating impact of the climate crisis, traversing such topics as global water transport, displacement, water control systems, queer mourning, and time travel. Currently, they have been developing a cycle of performances and installations informed by the social and political histories of waterways in localities from Venice, Italy to the Brazilian Amazon. A CERTAIN DEATH/THE SWAMP at the Center for Contemporary Art Berlin (2023) delved into the topography of Berlin, including the disastrous flash floods of 2021 and the city’s origins and swampland, to consider the significance of geography in the construction and deconstruction of race and colonialism. Mombaça’s work has recently been presented at Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva (2024) and Kunstinstitut Melly, Rotterdam (2023-2024); as well as in major exhibitions such as the 32nd and 34th São Paulo Biennale (2016 and 2020/2021); the 22nd Sydney Biennale (2020); and the 10th Berlin Biennale (2018).

The Muted Saints is curated by Claude Adjil, Curator at Large.

The Muted Saints is commissioned by Aspen Art Museum and co-presented with Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES).

The Muted Saints is made possible by The Tisch Discovery Series. The Tisch Discovery Series—a dynamic selection of commissions, performances, and dialogues presented throughout the week—are made possible through a generous gift from Steve Tisch and Jamie Tisch.

Special thanks to the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation for supporting Jota Mombaça’s The Muted Saints.

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GETTING THERE:

Complimentary shuttle service will run from the Aspen Art Museum to Hallam Lake beginning at 6:00 PM. There is no general parking at the venue. If you require accessible parking, please contact us in advance so we can coordinate accommodations.

PLEASE NOTE:

Doors open at 6:30 PM, and the performance begins promptly at 7:00 PM. Please arrive early to ensure entry.

This is a standing-room performance with limited seating available.

The path to the performance site includes natural terrain. We strongly recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes.

If you require assistance or accommodations, please email us in advance at air@aspenartmuseum.org so we can coordinate support.

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Image: Jota Mombaça, YOUR BLOOD IS LAND WHERE NO ONE STEPS IN, 2024. Video still. Photo by GRAYSC. Courtesy of the artist.