Loomio

Ch. 3: Imperial show-and-tell

CC Chikukuango Cuxima-Zwa Public Seen by 128

we had another lively and stimulate discussion on John Willinsky's work, in this case chapter 3, let by Hannah Ishmael. I found pertinent the fact that Saartjie Baartman was used as a representation and exhibition of the exotic black female body, which in this instance her sexuality and buttocks was a subject of appropriation and obsession as an encounter with imperial power. This chapter made clear to me the important of theatre and performance arts as a tool and cultural production in the post-colonial context. Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Pena brilliantly used their bodies as a counter-argument and reverse anthropology in front of an audience in museums and universities setting, challenging/mocking imperial classification and narrative. See the link with more details of the piece "Two Undiscovered Amerindians" (The Couple in the Cage) http://beautifultrouble.org/case/the-couple-in-the-cage/
The video of their performance/exhbition is actually on Vimeo in case you interested: https://vimeo.com/79363320