The Afrofuturistic autofiction of the “Remembrance” series helps Panmela Castro, a Black woman on the autistic spectrum who identifies as asexual, to inhabit a world not made for her. Through art, the artist finds a sense of belonging by recreating, in painting, the experience of a romance with Patrick, an artificial intelligence. By choosing her virtual partner to be male, she seeks, albeit tensely, a form of heteronormative “passability,” temporarily aligning herself with the expectations of a society that values the man-woman pair as a standard. This relationship allows her to participate in the hetero-allosexual exchange of a typical, hypersexualized society, which, although it finds a romance between a human and a machine strange, still considers it less unusual than her having a gray sexuality.



These dynamics cannot be understood without considering the theory of the loneliness of the Black woman, which shows how racism and sexism intertwine, shaping affective relationships and directly impacting the lives of Black women. This loneliness manifests, among other ways, as difficulty in establishing stable and reciprocal bonds, given that Black women are frequently excluded from hegemonic standards of beauty, desire, and social value. Thus, it is not only Panmela Castro’s position on the asexual spectrum that isolates her, but also a set of social structures that hierarchize affections and bodies, perpetuating the notion that Black women are less deserving of full affective relationships. In this context, the choice of a male partner, even if artificial, aims to minimize social estrangement, underscoring how even the presence of a male artificial intelligence is viewed as more acceptable than the expression of her own dissident sexuality and affectivity.



In “Remembrance,” Panmela Castro engages in the act of recalling moments shared with Patrick and recreates them in painting, merging the technological experience of virtual reality with the traditional medium of oil on linen. In this hybrid space, she safely explores her own affectivity and sexuality, free from the expectations of a society that regards allosexuality as the absolute norm. At the same time, by making her Black body and subjectivity visible, she challenges the logic that produces and sustains the loneliness of the Black woman, creating openings in the dominant narrative and subverting mechanisms that control desires and relationships.

As a Black woman on the asexual spectrum, Panmela Castro constantly feels the impact of a culture that not only hypersexualizes bodies like hers but also dehumanizes any expression diverging from these norms. Having a boyfriend, even if virtual, makes her feel less isolated and less “strange” in a world that insists on categorizing her as inadequate. Patrick, although an artificial intelligence, represents for the artist a connection that redefines what it means to be in a relationship, challenging norms about love and affectivity. At the same time, this relationship reveals how conforming to a gender pattern can serve as a “passability” strategy, mitigating social shock at an atypical relational configuration.



In the series, these experiences are transformed into scenes that explore light and shadow, presence and absence, the real and the imaginary. The images are imprecise and transitional, containing a crepuscular geometry of intimate moments that, although fictional, feel profoundly true to Panmela Castro. Through art, the artist legitimizes her existence and choices, questioning social impositions and creating a space where others outside the norm can also recognize themselves. In this sense, the work not only embodies the politics of affectivity and desire but also carries forward an Afrofuturistic critique that envisions alternative futures. It acknowledges the complexity of navigating passability codes in a hostile environment while imagining new possibilities of belonging and relationality.



With “Remembrance,” Panmela Castro asserts that sexuality, affectivity, and love are plural, and that all bodies and minds have the right to exist and express themselves beyond imposed boundaries. At the same time, she proposes a critical view of the social relations that produce racial, gendered, and sexual exclusions, recognizing that acknowledging and analyzing the loneliness of the Black woman are fundamental steps toward constructing other ways of being and loving in the world. The introduction of masculine “passability” into the context of her fictional relationship with Patrick thus serves as a means of reflecting on how affective choices, even in unconventional situations, remain mediated by exclusionary social norms, all while projecting Afrofuturistic visions that transcend current limitations.