Julio Torres and Martine Gutierrez's 'Marina' Premieres at Little Island, Satirizing Tech

The performance piece 'Marina', created by Julio Torres and Martine Gutierrez, premiered at Manhattan's Little Island on August 26, 2026, as part of the 2026 Whitney Biennial program. The work offers a comedic take on technology's influence, contrasting with typical dystopian portrayals. The narrative follows Marina, a sea wench played by Gutierrez, who lives in the Gowanus Canal with her sister and an anglerfish named Nano. After a construction worker drops his smartphone into the water, Marina becomes obsessed with social media and online dating, adopting the persona of Ariel from Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' (1989) to attract suitors. When her catfished matches become aggressive, she kills them, absorbing their belongings into her junkyard. A detective narrator, played by Tim Bendernagel, investigates the disappearances, recruiting a garbageman named Dino to go undercover. The plot draws on classic tales such as Homer's 'Odyssey', Euripides' 'Medea', and the film 'Jennifer's Body' (2009). The performance is staged at The Amph, Little Island's open-air amphitheater, with sets featuring video screens and debris. The work humorously critiques online dating, influencer culture, and the search for identity.