Autonomy

For Autonomy, a live performance by Chella Man at Performance Space New York, Manuela Ben Aïm fabricated a silicone full-body replica.

In this deeply personal and introspective performance, Man shares their narrative of self-determination, grief, healing, and reclamation of one’s body through tattooing and explorations of their scars from the medical industrial complex. To Man, piercing their skin is an act of erosion, revealing what lies beneath the surface, both within the body and the broader societal constructs we navigate. The piece compiles revelations of liberation that have become their leading values in life. Shattering the constraints of binary thinking, the performance celebrates queer, disabled, and trans bodies. Autonomy lives as an embodied experience, a testament to resilience and adaptability. Through this work, Man explores the continuum of art, disability, gender, and race by adapting and navigating their body as a mutable canvas for profound self-expression.