Performance artist Verónica Peña sits down for a chat with Asia this week. 
Verónica Peña is an interdisciplinary artist and independent curator from Spain based in the United States. Her performances explore the impact that absence, separation, and loss has on the human condition. Resisting limiting forces, from the enforcement of restrictive immigration policies to the operation of machismo, Verónica aspires to foster unity and connection in a world that sows division. For Verónica, the materiality of the items she uses in performances is key. She often fully envelops her body in these items and props, participating in a physical metamorphosis that momentarily alters the appearance of her body. Many of her performances incorporate audience participation and reflect her interest in promoting empathy.
Asia and Verónica mainly discuss Verónica's notable performance "The Body in the Substance," which Asia saw in-person back in 2021 at the NARS Foundation in New York.
In that performance, Verónica submerges herself in a large tank and breathes through a tube that allows her to stay underwater for hours at a time. Verónica explains how this performance can be freeing (02:32). She also shares how her artistic practice evolved from painting canvases to covering her own skin and body in paint and other materials.
Verónica describes what it is like to be submerged in her tank (05:20) and shares how she experimented with the liquids that would become the substance in her tank (06:14).
Audience engagement and feedback is important to Verónica, and she talks about the way viewers intensely responded to the sound of her breathing during the performance (11:46). Over time, Verónica has given members of the public the opportunity to submerge themselves in the tank, and many have deeply valued finding a sense of peace while underwater (14:52).
Asia also highlights Verónica's performance "Carried Bodies: La Máquina Dormida" to point out how Verónica uses sets of constraints to build performances (20:53). This conversation about Carried Bodies winds into a brief discussion of nudity in performance (25:15) and efforts to push audiences to sit with discomfort.
Verónica shares how she has stepped outside her own comfort zone through a studio program with Rockella (27:15). The program has pushed Verónica to fabricate objects related to her live performance work. Asia and Verónica end their conversation by reflecting on what remains once a performance is complete.
Follow Verónica on Instagram @veronica.pena.live.art and on her website www.veronicapena.com
You can watch Verónica's work on PerformVu! Head to https://www.performvu.com/
This podcast is produced and edited by Asia Stewart. 
Find Asia online @asiastewart and @performvu