Recreating the unrepeatable: the ethics of recurrence in performance art

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5965/1414573102582026e0111

Keywords:

archive, embodiment, ethics of return, temporality, Vis-critica

Abstract

This article addresses reenactment as a bodily critique of the archive, a rupture of linear temporality, and a catalysing act of return that values ​​both the unrepeatable and the enduring. It is also viewed as a tool for revisiting unresolved issues in performance practice and as an operation that reactivates political tensions, embodied memories, and historical resonances. Insights from Peggy Phelan, Rebecca Schneider, Diana Taylor, and Leda Martins frame reenactment as a process of transforming meaning through variations in bodies, spaces, and contexts, thereby generating new forms of knowledge production.

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Author Biography

  • Andrea Pagnes, ArtEZ University of the Arts

    El artista y escritor italiano Andrea Pagnes y la artista alemana Verena Stenke trabajan juntos como VestAndPage desde 2006.  Exploran el arte de la performance y el cine basado en la performance como fenómenos de ‘lugares sutiles’ a través de su práctica creativa colaborativa, investigación teórica y artística, y proyectos comunitarios artísticos temporales y curatoriales, como la Semana Internacional de Arte de Performance de Venecia. Sus obras se han presentado a nivel internacional. Son profesores en la Universidad de las Artes ArtEZ (Países Bajos) y en la Academia UNIDEE (Italia), y recibieron el premio a la mejor película en el Festival de Cine Independiente de Berlín (2018).  pagnes@vest-and-page.de        https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3696-2503

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Published

2026-09-01

Issue

Section

Dossiê Temático: Estudos do reenactment nas artes da cena

How to Cite

Recreating the unrepeatable: the ethics of recurrence in performance art. Urdimento: Revista de Estudos em Artes Cênicas, v. 2, n. 58, p. 1–33, 1 Sep.2026.

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