African Crossings — connecting us across physical and imaginary borders
By Boitumelo Makousu
JOMBA! 2021: “African Crossings” featured:
Robert Ssempijja (Kampala, Uganda) — Alienation; Bernardo “Pak Ndjamena” Guiamba (Maputo, Mozambique) — IN-BOX!!; Gaby Saranouffi (Antananarivo, Madagascar) — FACE(S) OF BASADI and Marcel Gbeffa (Cotonou, Benin) — In my mind.
The showcased works address strong meaningful social and political contexts, experienced and observed by the performers/choreographers in their respective countries. The works cross African borders, graciously interconnecting with one another using artistic elements such as form and shapes, structures, space, textures, emotions, feeling, colour, and light.
Ssempijja’s Alienation is inspired by Kampala’s colonial impacts on the city, especially focusing on the architectural structures which continue to limit the livelihoods of Kampala society. He looks at themes of decolonisation and questioning what home is; what belonging should perhaps be and deep feelings of being alienated in one’s own country. He creates a silent yet clear statement through his flow of contemporary movement. Central to the work is the destroyed setting evoking colonial power, draped in classical Roman architecture (designed by a German architect) which aggressively reminds us of colonialization and settlement throughout Africa.
A transitionary moment is felt strongly when the performer firmly stands in the middle of a sand dune giving a provocatively strong but silent narrative of a natural defence mechanism. This intensifies and sets the tone of the resistance to being stuck in colonialist structures; he seeks self-discovery and redefining what belonging should feel like in his native land.
After seeing this piece and experiencing Ndjamena’s work, they seem intertwined and highlight how political structures formed by pre- and post-colonialism still affect livelihoods of those in Africa. Yet we remain resilient and search for hope, for progress, and development. We are BOXED! So boxed that we tolerate ill-treatment, suffering and pain. Screaming at the top of a mountain isn’t enough! ,
The variety of spaces, locations, and textures of the surroundings in the film highlight an awareness of the environment and how it progresses through the body of work. Textures such as concrete, cement, grassland, textiles, wood, traditional beads, and the music fused with hip-hop beats, market sounds and traffic took us on a complete journey through Maputo.
Gbeffa’s In my mind is filled with hallucination and dream-like features which enable us to travel using our imaginations. Gbeffa traverses real and imaginary borders and landscapes, from bedroom to bush, dust under feet, in an attempt to escape Covid.
In Saranouffi’s installation, The FACE(S) OF BASADI, even though she focusses on rites of passage and womanhood, the message speaks to standing up for what you believe in and fighting for something greater. Saranouffi makes use of fabric perhaps hinting at how society maintains social-economic and political structures — the embodiment of the white wedding gown, covering her face, yet also referencing virginity and innocence.
The works left me provocatively questioning and thinking differently about not accepting what I’m expected to believe in political and social contexts; a balance and understanding of how connected we are and our lived experience without thinking of the borders that divide us. We need to be aware and interconnected.
