b. 1986 Manila, Philippines; Lives and works Manila, Philippines

Eisa Jocson considers their body an archive of particular kinds of labour. She is a Filipino choreographer and dancer who exposes the politics of movement – either that of a dancing pole or the literal movement of migrant workers out of the Philippines. This macro and micro lens through which Jocson explores the body and its work is a study in movement that holds the intricate link between the entertainment industries, capitalism, and ideas of broader social mobility under scrutiny. Presenting archetypes produced by capitalism – the Disney princess, the macho man, the pole dancer, the hostess, the superwoman, Jocson sees capital as the root cause of the indentured body and as such reclaims the body itself as a living archive of socio-political inequality. Trained as a visual artist with a background in ballet, she uses dance to not only reveal the body’s entanglement with capitalism but also as a critique of the conditions that some bodies are subjected to. She exposes the inequity and inequality found in what she calls the ‘performance of happiness and production of fantasy within the happiness empire’.

For further information about this artist please click here.

For Eisa Jocson's entry on Asia Art Archive's website please click here.