ENIGMA OF ARRIVAL
Enigma of Arrival was directed by Blue Pieta and Charis Taplin in collaboration with Diaspora’s Now, a performance art collective from the Royal College of Art and Decolonise Art History Cambridge University at Gallery V Cambridge in February 2022.
Through dance, song and text the work inhabits a mythological world of horse heads, sacrificial brides, white leather heels and daffodils in the intimacy of the gallery space, using performance as a ritual to explore the symbiosis of dispossession, migration and regeneration.
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The work was curated by Bread Theatre and Film Company, Decolonise Art History and Diasporas Now: ‘The title is inspired by V. S. Naipaul’s novel and John Akomfrah's subsequent interpretation in 'Vertigo Sea' (2015). The program interprets experiences of displacement into performances and stands in solidarity with all diasporas from the past and present. The program also encourages rethinking of the performing space and the role of the performers.
Credits
Dancers/Choreographers: Blue Pieta, Charis Taplin
Music: Ynys Barnard Masterson, Elinor Ardern, Jessica Raja-Brown
Photos and program description by Winnie Zhu.