Soraya Leila Emery

Coming Soon is a solo performance exploring pleasure, desire, and the female gaze by subverting the iconic figure of La Grande Odalisque painted by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. It is driven by the desire to shift the narrative from passivity and objectification to one of subjectivity and self-representation.

The odalisque. There she is, languidly waiting on a couch in a luxurious harem setting. The idealized, sensual image of a woman. A passive, desirable object awaiting consumption. Who is she? What is she waiting for in this confined space?

The work turns toward her pleasure—found in longing, waiting, and anticipation. Her yearning for it all to happen again. What or who is “coming soon”? And is anything coming at all?

As part of the work for this piece Soraya Leila Emery also hosts a series of workshops: Pleasure Practices