​JOHN HENRY GERENA
INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST
COLLABORATIONS
GradOcero Collective - Montreal
https://gradocerote.wixsite.com/collectif
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Founded in Colombia in 2011 by Eduardo Ruiz and John Henry Gerena, the GradOcero collective emerged from the meeting of two interdisciplinary artists and cultural managers with the purpose of creating spaces for theoretical reflection, scenic creation, dissemination, and circulation of the living arts and new theatricalities.
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In 2019, with the collective’s artistic work in constant transformation, Diana Catalina Cárdenas—artist and cultural manager—joined the group, strengthening its commitment to knowledge-building and the development of new artistic proposals.
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Since its inception, the collective has focused on research into movement and performance of the body, particularly in relation to physical resistance, interpretation, emotional states, and altered states of consciousness. This inquiry seeks to establish a dialogue between the subjective experience of the performer in real time and the objective deconstruction of movement.
Over the years, GradOcero has broadened its horizons, increasingly dedicated to the construction of interdisciplinary proposals that expand expressive possibilities. Their work includes installations with physical interventions in unconventional spaces and the incorporation of technology to generate robust and comprehensive projects.
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The collective constantly questions and explores scenic and relational strategies, maintaining fluid and horizontal communication in both creative and administrative processes. Its strength lies in the search for technical, plastic, and poetic solutions for each performative action. By investigating what it means to research with the body and within the body, GradOcero has positioned itself as a reference in the field of living arts.
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The GradOcero Collective continues to expand its creative horizons with new projects that deepen its exploration of the body and interdisciplinary performance. D157ORS1ON focuses on perceptual shifts in memory and movement, examining how gestures can be fragmented and reassembled on stage. TR4N5DUC710N investigates the translation of sound and visual stimuli into physical expression, creating a dialogue between technology and corporeal presence. Finally, UBICUITÉ addresses multiplicity and simultaneity, reflecting on the ubiquity of the body in digital and non-conventional spaces. Together, these works consolidate the collective’s pursuit of innovative languages in the living arts and the creation of robust, contemporary scenic experiences.
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Marginalia:
Marginalia is a research and creation project that draws on the richness and power of handwritten notes found in printed books. These marginal annotations travel through time, speaking and sharing the impact that texts have had on readers. They allow us to hear the echoes of stories and offer alternative points of view—a kind of intimate psychology recorded anonymously—providing tools for the construction of a bodily dramaturgy.
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The creative process begins with the reading aloud of Albert Camus’ The Stranger, which serves as inspiration for the production. Chapter by chapter, the artists intervene in the space, proposing transformations, manipulations, and changes that establish a dialogue between the linear reading of the text and the timeless creation of body and sound images.
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The work unfolds as a play of superimposed images, activating the scene and highlighting the multiplicity of creative means and languages. It is both a reflection on the act of reading and an exploration of how literature can be translated into movement, sound, and visual presence.
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Del otro Lado:
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Del Otro Lado – Mémoire du confinement is a three-voice video-art project, a cyclical performance and a constantly evolving creation carried out by three performing artists located in Montreal (Quebec) and Bogotá (Colombia).
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The work explores loneliness, distancing, virtual encounters, and the effects of the pandemic on the psyche and the body. Each artist, confined within their own home, generates and experiences changing physical actions shaped by emotions and sensations.
From a shared sound score, the performers construct the timeline of the project. Each week, they record a video of their explorations, developing a body score that serves as the foundation for the live performance.
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Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Del Otro Lado reflects on the fragility of human connection and the resilience of artistic creation in times of isolation.
Sector N Collective - Hamilton - ON
Founded in the summer of 2015, Sector N Collective was created to explore how three artistic disciplines—dance, music, and film—might converge and interact.
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John Henry Gerena: Choreographer and Performer
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Edgardo Moreno: Sound Designer
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Peter Riddihough: Videographer
The collective developed a highly successful project based on the history of Hamilton, titled Memory Project, which unfolded in two phases: Memory Project 1 and Memory Project 2.
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Sector N is not interested in extrapolating positions or making judgments about historical facts. Instead, the intent of The Memory Project(s) is to create an artistic reflection on images and characters from the past, evoking emotional connections in the present.
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The purpose of the project is to rework images of the past linked to the collective identity of the city. The result is not a historical document but an artistic interpretation of events and figures that have shaped society. Recognizing that there is no single kind of memory, the collective researches and gathers materials to construct its own image of events, reflecting the multiplicity of perspectives.
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Memory Project is a site-specific, multidisciplinary performance installation in Hamilton, Ontario, that explores local history through the interaction of movement, sound, and image.
(Click on title to watch the video)
password: memory
Presented at the Frost Bites Site-Specific Performance Festival in Hamilton, February 2016, The Memory Project was a 20-minute multidisciplinary performance installation staged across three levels of a 100-year-old former cotton factory.
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The piece combined historical research, archival documentary recordings, original field recordings, original music, film footage, projection, lighting, and interpretive movement to evoke the daily life of an industrial worker in early 20th-century Hamilton.
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Through live movement, the performer embodied an abstract interpretation of a fictionalized worker’s experiences, while moving projections juxtaposed this figure as a “ghost” within a contemporary industrial landscape. A multi-channel spatial audio design layered archival and contemporary documentary voices, manipulated sound, and original music, creating an immersive environment.
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The audience—limited to 15 participants per performance—moved with the performer through the three floors of the installation, experiencing an intimate journey through memory and space. The work was performed 20 times over four nights, receiving remarkable feedback from both the public and professionals.
The Memory Project is a site-specific, multidisciplinary performance installation created in Hamilton, Ontario. It explores local history through the interaction of movement, sound, and image, offering audiences an immersive reflection on the city’s collective memory.
(Click on title to watch the video).