Elyla: Art and Activism at the Venice Biennale

Elyla, a Nicaraguan artist born in 1989 in Chontales, uses performance, video, and installation to explore decolonial practices and queer identity. Their work, presented at the 2024 Venice Biennale, includes the video art piece 'Torita-encuetada,' a reenactment of an anti-colonial fire ritual based on the Nicaraguan tradition of Toro-encuetado. The piece was created in collaboration with director Milton Guillen and features music by Susy Shock and Luigi Bridges. It is dedicated to Gustavo Herrera and Cristian Ruiz, indigenous Mangue-Chorotega cultural leaders; Ruiz was killed in 2022 in a hate crime. Elyla identifies as a 'cochonx chontalli barro-mestiza,' a term that blends Spanish, Nahuatl, and local references to challenge colonial gender binaries and celebrate indigenous heritage. Their practice spans performance, photography, experimental theater, and site-specific interventions, often reexamining folk traditions. Currently, they are researching cockfighting in Nicaragua and Indonesia with Javanese dance artist Otniel Tasman.