Mauricio Leon
Callao, *1976
“Hello, my name is Mauricio Leon, and I’m a
person like you, who has desires, dreams, and
opinions… I do not accept any State labeling
me a ‘foreigner,’ ‘B visa,’ or ‘Extra-European.’”
With those words in mind and a black letter B
painted on his face, Mauricio Leon decided one
day to walk up and down the streets of Geneva,
publicly displaying the discriminatory mark
printed in his B visa. Leon aimed to wrongfoot
Swiss administrative bureaucracy, whose usual
violence is expressed in the hushed ambiance
of an office or through an official registered
letter. By forcing people who were merely
passing by to face the immigration policy in
force in Switzerland, Leon’s Action B performance
pays, la performance de Mauricio Leon Action B
shifted the debate to the public square, embodying
an act of resistance before any and all normative
designations.