vagues incarnées series, 2025
VAGUES INCARNEES
Vagues Incarnées series
2025-ongoing, Solar prints on natural fibre paper, 43 x 52 cm and 50 x 70 cm each, unique
Vagues Incarnées series
2025-ongoing, Solar prints on natural fibre paper, 43 x 52 cm and 50 x 70 cm each, unique
Corps Ondulants series
2025-ongoing, Solar prints on cotton fabric, variable dimentions
Hug me Harder, Choke me Tender
2025, Performance with an MMA grappling dummy crafted from traditional duvet, satin and nylon fabric, stitches, synthetic fiber and shredded foam, 122 x 70 x 53 cm, Duration: 10 minutes
In Hug Me Harder, Choke Me Tender, the body becomes a site of conflict—where tenderness coexists with violence, and intimacy merges with domination. Using a lifelike MMA dummy crafted from traditional duvet fabric as both partner and opponent, the performance oscillates between gestures of affection and acts of physical constraint, including embraces and rear naked chokes. Through this tension, the piece confronts the blurred boundaries between violence and affection, dominance and desire, consent and coercion.
Framed within the visual language of combat sports and domestic intimacy, the work speaks to both personal and collective politics—touching on themes of relational power, violence, embodied trauma, and eroticism. Hug Me Harder, Choke Me Tender invites the audience into a space where the language of affection is rewritten through physical violence, revealing the fragility—and the danger—of intimacy.
Hug me Harder, Choke me Tender
2025, MMA grappling dummy crafted from traditional duvet, satin and nylon fabric, stitches, synthetic fiber and shredded foam, 122 x 70 x 53 cm
In Hug Me Harder, Choke Me Tender, the body becomes a site of conflict—where tenderness coexists with violence, and intimacy merges with domination. Using a lifelike MMA dummy crafted from traditional duvet fabric as both partner and opponent, the performance oscillates between gestures of affection and acts of physical constraint, including embraces and rear naked chokes. Through this tension, the piece confronts the blurred boundaries between violence and affection, dominance and desire, consent and coercion.
Framed within the visual language of combat sports and domestic intimacy, the work speaks to both personal and collective politics—touching on themes of relational power, violence, embodied trauma, and eroticism. Hug Me Harder, Choke Me Tender invites the audience into a space where the language of affection is rewritten through physical violence, revealing the fragility—and the danger—of intimacy.
Hug me Harder, Choke me Tender
2025, MMA grappling dummy crafted from traditional duvet, satin and nylon fabric, stitches, synthetic fiber and shredded foam, 122 x 70 x 53 cm
In Hug Me Harder, Choke Me Tender, the body becomes a site of conflict—where tenderness coexists with violence, and intimacy merges with domination. Using a lifelike MMA dummy crafted from traditional duvet fabric as both partner and opponent, the performance oscillates between gestures of affection and acts of physical constraint, including embraces and rear naked chokes. Through this tension, the piece confronts the blurred boundaries between violence and affection, dominance and desire, consent and coercion.
Framed within the visual language of combat sports and domestic intimacy, the work speaks to both personal and collective politics—touching on themes of relational power, violence, embodied trauma, and eroticism. Hug Me Harder, Choke Me Tender invites the audience into a space where the language of affection is rewritten through physical violence, revealing the fragility—and the danger—of intimacy.
The man I beat down
2025, Painting by punching on the male body, canvas, oiled thread, stitches, textile dye, 200 x 120 cm
Kız gibi Dövüş / Fight Like a Girl Performance Documentation
2022, 4 pigment prints on archival Hahnemühle paper, handwriting, framed, 28,5 x 28,5 cm each, 5 Ed. + 1 A.P.
Battle Cry
2025, 50 x 70 cm Double-sided embroidered flag, satin fabric, thread, metallic gold tassel, 90 cm wooden rod, 45-degree angle brass wall mount, 5 Ed. + 1 A.P.
Fight Like a Girl / Pelea Como una Chica
2024, Installation & performance in collaboration with Namibia Flores Rodríguez produced for 15 Bienal de la Habana at Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Centre
2025, Short film accompanying the project
The work consists of creating and performing a new version of Kız gibi Dövüş / Fight Like a Girl specific to the 15th Havana Biennial by collaborating with local participants and by focusing on boxing which is deeply rooted in the local history and context. First introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, today boxing is considered a popular sport in Cuba. Although the ban on professional boxing in 1962 may seem to have hindered its development, Cuban style boxing earned an international reputation as a defensive style focused on tactics, precision and movement instead of offense and power. This style is deeply rooted in ‘Juego de maní’, a stick-fighting martial art and dance that was developed and practiced in Cuba by African slaves working on the sugar plantations. Complicating matters, women were banned from all forms of competition until only a few years ago. Whether this ban was driven by fears of harm to their ‘feminine’ bodies or rooted in a paternalistic culture of overprotecting women remains debatable. Thus, the realisation of Fight Like a Girl / Pelea Como Una Chica comes at a pivotal time, highlighting Cuban women and non-binary boxing practitioners while expanding the relevance of their practice beyond the context of sports.
Combat sports, while susceptible to perpetuating discrimination and gender-based violence, also serve as a powerful tool for empowerment, fostering confidence in one’s body and promoting solidarity. In this context, boxing, interwoven with political history and reflective of current social issues, establishes strong ties and deeply resonates within Cuban society.
Supported by SAHA.
Black Panther Namibia
Lioness Lia
Queen Phetjeeja
T-Rex Claressa
Bullet Valentina
Pretty Killer Iman
AK47 Amber
Barbie Ekaterina
Cyborg Cris
Magnum Weili
Panda Jing Nan
Android 18 Anissa and Itsuki
Beautiful Boxer Nong Toom
They say “You fight like a girl.”
Those who fight like a young girl, as adult women, as queer, as the exploited, the abused…
In fact, those in the ring are,
Those realising their childhood dream,
Those yearning to be the strongest, the best.
Those who fight to beat poverty,
Those supporting their families well before puberty.
Those who take a break to bear children,
Those who breastfeed between trainings.
Those who fight to raise children.
Those fighting to survive the abuse,
Those abused as fighters.
Those bound to hide their sexual orientation.
Those who want to protect themselves on the street and at home…
If getting into the ring is a rehearsal of life,
There are rules here in the ring.
Whereas in life…
…everyone has a plan,
until they get punched in the face.
Train hard,
Fight easy.
Pay-per-view
Is turned on.
In the stadium,
Bets are on.
Eagerly they await,
Who beats whom?
Iron wrists,
Knuckle to knuckle punches.
Here, what’s the cost of a win?
What’s the meaning of loss?
“Blood, sweat and tears” they say.
Whose tears,
Where is my blood flowing from?
“Muscle Memory”, they say.
The memory of all the individuals
Subject to generations of violence.
“No pain, no gain” they say.
Who pains?
Whose gains?
Here we are, in the ring,
In the corners.
Our punches,
Not meant for your entertainment,
But to protect ourselves,
And just because we like to.
After all, there is freedom in knowing how to punch.
Throwing a punch as an act of care.
A form of consensual violence, as one might say.
I chose my safe word.
If I say it, will we stop hitting each other?
Against the same potential threat,
As we learn to fight by repeating over and over,
We were made to confront each other
Rather than stand side by side.
Would compassion,
Allow for solidarity?
Fighting in solidarity,
Acting in solidarity to become stronger,
Becoming stronger to fight.
To watch the film on Vimeo, type namibia


(se) donner à la Seine
2024-ongoing, Video & performance
A water current, subjected to the force of gravity, does not simply flow from upstream to downstream, that is, from a higher point in altitude to a lower point: it grows, widens towards its riverbed called the ‘major’ or flood bed, and narrows, then occupying only the ‘minor’ bed; like a thoracic breath with an atypical rhythm. Thus, we talk about ‘wild’ rivers, like the Loire, whose banks are not yet captive to constructed walls. And even when these water currents, often urban, whose lateral movements are limited and cannot freely expand, the height they reach during floods is considered to hinder daily life or even threaten urban structures, infrastructure, and homes. But in reality, a water current, a river, any body of water, are liminal spaces that mark the perpetual transition between water and the terrestrial, urban environment of the Anthropocene.
‘(se) donner à la Seine’ is being produced during a period when not only the Seine’s cleanup efforts are drawing international public interest, parallel to similar efforts on other rivers traversing European capitals like Berlin and the Spree, but also when rivers are beginning to be granted the status of legal personality.
Since Antiquity, the Seine, an emblematic river, has played a central role in the history, culture, and economy of the region, while also witnessing major social and political events. From the windows of my temporary studio at the Cité Internationale des Arts overlooking the Seine, I was figuratively immersed in this river, and almost literally as well. The artistic research I conducted during the three months of residency allowed me to reflect on the relationships between the Seine and Parisians, especially those who directly or indirectly wield power over this fluvial body.
I arrived at a perception of binary relationships as well as a proposition to diversify and vary them. It seems to be a rather familiar dichotomy where on one side the river is elevated to the divine in the symbolic realm, often represented by a young and beautiful woman, without real power or might, appearing docile; reduced to a commodity, a tool, a resource to be mastered on the other. A non-being rather than an entity in its own right. Therefore, the relationships cultivated with the Seine would belong only to these two registers.
So, how to connect with a water body? How to give to it rather than take? How to give without expecting a return? How to coexist?
The Seine as a liminal experience.
Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine
et son flux
faut-il qu’on se souvienne
tout ce qu’on prît à la Seine
coulent les eaux,
se canalisent les réseaux.
des siècles de crues et d’érosions,
de sécheresse et d’inondations.
l’insoumise Seine jadis
quand ça fluait,
débordait à guise,
de plein gré.
encadrée désormais,
contrainte par les quais maçonnés,
la Seine est domestiquée.
depuis,
on y bronze et on y skie.
‘sous les pavés, la plage’ dit-on.
et prochainement,
ce vieux rêve des présidents.
la Seine, une piscine à ciel ouvert.
autrefois nommée Sequana
cette personnification de la divinité
une belle jeune femme svelte elle est
la déesse que l’on se veut
bienveillante, guérisseuse
et exauceur de vœux.
s’est-on jamais demandé
que lui offrir à part des objets
en remerciement de vœux formulés.
des armes perdues, offertes, cédées,
et même, on y en a jeté,
aussi bien des pointes de flèches en silex,
que de lances, haches, et des épées.
au fond de la Seine
ça défigure, ça corrode, ça érode.
multitudes de statues ex-voto trouvées
quand sa source a été fouillée.
qu’en est-il des clés rouillées,
sans oublier leurs cadenas ôtés
par les agents de la municipalité.
encombrée d’objets,
vous l’a-t-elle jamais revendiquée?
comment donner à la Seine?
se donner à la Seine.
il ne s’agit pas de sa donner sa vie,
ni d’en sacrifier une autre,
puisque quelle source de vie
voudrait en supprimer une autre?
la Seine qui se révèle à moi,
si l’on ne peut éviter
de la personnifier,
possède des épaules larges
et une carrure développée.
iel est vigoureuse, imposante,
surtout puissante.
ne le croyons pas inépuisable son réservoir,
ni sans fond son déversoir.
toutefois
faut-il le dire à haute voix
que son flux sera toujours là
même quand nous ne le serons pas.
mesdames et messieurs,
mondame et masieur
devant vos yeux
voici
le vestige du tout premier port des Parisii
se lit le texte d’exposition sur le site
de la crypte archéologique.
sur les quais du port de Gennevilliers,
se commerce le sable, farine, ciment et charbon.
des montagnes de conteneurs remplis de colis,
Amazon, Ebay et express Ali,
de livres, de vêtements, de meubles, de jouets,
de tous les coins du monde sont expédiés.
si Paris est
centre de consommation depuis l’antiquité,
La Seine c’était
point de rassemblement des organismes assoiffés.
eau souterraine, eaux de surface
eaux de lavage, de drainage.
eaux usées, souillées
eaux nauséabondes.
dans la Seine se croisent les eaux
entre les rails, les pavés, les corps, les fontaines,
les tuyaux et les vaisseaux.
que transmet-elle, la Seine dans notre chair;
cette eau intracellulaire?
la ville sous la ville
l’eau dans les eaux
eau potable
eaux grises, eaux noires.
eaux de ruissellement
eaux pluviales.
et plus loin en aval,
à près de 400 km de coulée
quel vent t’apporte cette odeur iodée?
Sous le Pont de Normandie
se meurent les cétacés,
collectés par les musées.
d’ailleurs n’est-il pas ainsi
que l’histoire naturelle s’est rédigée?
ne nous croyons pas immanents,
ni nos ponts en bétons.
sur ses berges se sont décomposés des mammouths,
dans ses fonds se sont péchés des corps humains.
et une nuit en 61,
on y noya des algériens.
et peut-être bientôt:
l’homme; cet animal disparu désormais.
ne s’est-elle pas lasser
des ruminements mentaux
de cette espèce à deux pieds,
depuis une éternité?
alors maintenant,
voguons à contre courant.
il est grand temps
pour la cérémonie des vœux olympiques.
Sous le Pont d’Iéna
amarreront les bateaux,
naviguant d’est en ouest,
comme les vagues migratoires
s’achève devant le Trocadéro la traversée,
la Seine accueillant cette cérémonie non sollicitée,
telle une hôtesse involontaire.
Sous le Pont des Invalides
se battent en crawl les corps olympiques.
la Seine devient un décor
diffusé en live pour le public.
Sous le Pont Alexandre III
se la coule douce le corps de la Seine,
où l’ouvrage d’art s’édifia
au tournant du siècle
à l’occasion des expositions universelles.
Sur le Pont de la Concorde
affirme les panneaux « Histoire de Paris »
que se foule aux pieds les pierres antiques
de la fameuse prison démolie.
n’est-ce aussi une autre manière
de dire les fonds se manquèrent
en pleine tourmente révolutionnaire?
quelles données tactiles te transmettent
ces pierres de piliers hantées
par ceux qui les auraient gratté
avec leurs ongles jusqu’à en saigner?
Sous le Pont Royal
se brise la Seine en cinq travées.
et sous le Pont des Arts
se gausse-t-elle
des rambardes grillagées menacées d’être abîmées
par le poids des cadenas des amoureux
et celui de leurs vœux.
Sous le Pont Neuf
s’apprivoisa la Seine
en trois décennies de travaux et de halte alternant.
Sur les bords du square Vert Galant
se lamentent les saules pleureurs.
Près du Pont au Change
s’est creusé un tunnel sous la Seine.
son écoulement progressivement enserré,
par un réseaux de rails et de couloirs canalisé
où l’humidité oxydée
rappelle sa présence aux usagers de la RATP.
d’ailleurs entrevoit-on
sur le logo des transports parisiens,
ce profil de visage féminin
regardant vers le haut à l’horizon,
comme une carte de Paris simplifiant
la Seine la traversant.
Sous le Pont Saint-Louis
flottent les cygnes assoupis,
se jettent les eaux dites salies
à travers les déversoirs d’orages
et les eaux de drainage,
se mêlant au courant.
Petite bande annonce:
votre agence vous propose
appartement de luxe, vue dégagée
et situé aux abords de cette divinité,
dans prestigieux quartier.
cependant, faut-il se le permettre
à 17 134 euro le mètre
au carré évidemment
moyennement,
aux quais de Béthune, des Orfèvres et d’Orléans.
Sur le quai de l’Hotel de Ville
les fourgons policiers défilent,
se répercutent les sirènes
à travers la surface de la Seine.
Sous le Pont Marie
se dressent les tentes,
cités temporaires aux coloris arc-en-ciel.
cérémonie d’ouverture des JO en vue
évacuation des sans-abri,
déportation imminente en bus pleinement remplis.
Sur le quai Saint Bernard
se propagent les vagues des zodiaques
de la fluviale brigade.
4 mètres 10 de hauteur franchie,
les tentes sont inondées.
les poteaux de vidéosurveillance érigés,
font face au courant courageusement
sur la pointe de l’île Saint Louis.
Sous le Pont d’Austerlitz
se mesure ses crues,
surveillance en permanence
prise de peur de ses grandes hausses
débit, hauteur mais pas son humeur.
‘quand la Seine a noyé Paris’ encore présent dans les esprits.
nous attend la prochaine crue non pas seulement de la décennie.
et ce bras mort de la Bièvre.
on y a tué ses rivières.
jadis cet égout à ciel ouvert,
traversant la ville lumière.
ne se donne plus la peine aujourd’hui
de tracer sur les cartes ses affluents
disparaissant définitivement.
alors, trépignons sur la Seine incarcérée sous béton!
(se) donner à la Seine – Carte #1
2024, Acrylic ink on acid-free paper, 50 x 70 cm, unique
(Şerif Kaynar Collection)
Bodies that Wave / Waves that Embody
2023-ongoing
Series of video Installation & Lecture Performance
Print on fibre paper, 268 x 40cm, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P.
Based on the questions “How to perform a wave?” and “How to become a wave?” Mimiko invites the audience to explore the similarities between the rhythmic and fluid movements of waves, which are in a constant state of motion and change, and the rhythmic and fluid movements of the human body. Through the performative reading, Mimiko assumes that intentions can spread like waves, traversing time and space, and she aims to make the various waves traversing the human body visible by tracing their marks in water-bodies. “Bodies that wave / Waves that embody” draws attention to this correlation and pursues the question “What does it mean for the human body to be a wave?”
The first of the performative reading series was held in September 2023 as part of “Akan Beden Performans ve Konuşma Dizisi,” the second one in January 2024 at Galerie Analix Forever/Geneva and the third in June 2024 at Pilot Galeri/Istanbul.
Egosurfing 2023, Polished brass, 40 x 15 x 0,5 cm, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P.
Egosurfing (2023) takes its name from a term coined by Sean Carton in 1995. First appearing as an entry in Gareth Branwyn’s March 1995 Wired magazine Jargon Watch column, the term refers to the practice of searching for one’s own name or nickname in a popular search engine and reviewing the results. Similarly, an “egosurfer” is defined as someone who searches for their own name on the Internet and wants to see what information appears.
The 10-metre wave 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free paper, 150 x 1000 cm, unique
Waves come
Waves go
–
Let them come
Let them go
–
Gentle waves
Monster waves
–
Ever-unfolding
–
Silent waves
Dead waves
Those who died with the waves
–
Waves as a map
Waves as a feeling
–
Becoming each and every wave
–
The all-seeing
The all-knowing
The all-feeling wave
–
Becoming each and every wave
–
Ocean waves
Sound waves
Electromagnetic waves
Gravitational waves
Seismic waves
Pandemic waves
Heat waves
Migration waves
Feminist waves
Waves do not always come in pairs
Watch out for the rogue waves
–
Does knowing one wave mean knowing them all
–
Waves roll
Crash
Break
Transgress
–
A thought
A wave
In the universe
An intention set in the pluriverse
A wave in the multiverse
–
What of an ocean without waves
–
Why separate the ocean when we can share the waves
–
Divided oceans
Divided waves
–
Waves of separation
–
Wiped out
Cities,
Bodies,
Memories,
Wiped out
–
Deadly waves of your intentions
The slow violence of your explorations
Text written on ‘The 10-metre Wave’
