Performed by nora chipaumire, Shamar Watt, Atiyyah Khan e Kris Lee
Sound Concept and direction nora chipaumire
DJ vinil Atiyyah Khan
DJ digital Shamar Watt e Kris Lee
Sound design Antek Mantorski
Technical direction Roderick Murray
Text | Script nora chipaumire
Set design Ari Marcopoulos, Kara Walker e Matt Jackson Studio
Light Design | Costume Concept nora chipaumire
Co-production The Kitchen, Crossing the Line Festival e and Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University
Support Fondation d’entreprise Hermès in the context of New Settings Program
Grace Jones is perhaps the first superstar who was black, female and unapologetic about her presence that I fell in love with.In the work 100% POP, I find myself returning to the ways information and knowledge is or was acquired by those of us who grew up in less free times - in times of Drum magazine, african broadcast stations, color bars, poverty, active connections to rural and township lifestyles.
We approach this by sound clashing elements and Grace Jones’, Zimbabwe’s Chimurenga music, dub and black noise.
nora chipaumire
100% POP is a tribute to Grace Jones, the famous Jamaican singer, actress and model. As a black superstar, she has had a far-reaching influence on pop culture and introduced a new, shifting image of the black body. In a monologue bursting with infectious energy, combining voice, dance and music, nora chipaumire talks about her discovery of Grace Jones during her youth in Zimbabwe and her longing for independence. In 100% POP chipaumire also deals with the emancipation of the black body by embracing and challenging stereotypes related to its significance and representation.
Having inherited Zimbabwe's historical and political legacy, chipaumire uses her work to deconstruct preconceptions about the black body and assess its emancipation on stage through forms of self-portraiture, biographical aspects and images of liberation and independence. For the artist, born without property/home, name or class, the performative body can be a way for a possible salvation, a manifest, or a potential vehicle for self-determination. In her performances, chipaumire uses spoken word, music and a direct engagement of the audiences - 100% POP is danced on stage with the audience nearby - as well as traditional culture and her personal history as tools of denunciation and transformation.
Image: Ian Douglas
