"...In Bare Essentials invites the viewer to enter the home and rethink the place of silence and violence in the domestic context. This exquisite audiovisual piece shows Ariela setting a table: with great care, she places the dishes on a white tablecloth, brings plates and cutlery to her lips, looks at her reflection on a spoon that returns her image inverted, and on the blade of a knife where we never quite see her in focus. Once the table is set, using a needle and thread, she begins the ritual of sewing the tablecloth where each one of the aforementioned elements disappear as they are wrapped around—or should we say swallowed?—with this mantle, thus leading the viewer to reflect on the ravages of silenced violence behind closed doors. She runs her fingertips over the seams, over the scars, and over the bulges that suggest what lies beneath but also concealing it (...) And just when it seemed that the silencing ritual was complete, an unexpected twist happens, and we see Ariela slinging the sewn and set table over her shoulder, like a backpack ready for use. We share in her emotions as we watch her cross the threshold, leaving the domestic space behind and stepping into a luminous, green, natural environment. We walk the path with her, watching her drag her weight, sensing the rhythm of her steps; but we also see her savoring the nature she touches and smells. We celebrate her freedom with her, even with that burden on her back..."

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Lic. Mariana Rodríguez Iglesias ​

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