Sādhanā (2022)

performance by Swan Nemesis, 60 min 

dupatta, kurta pajama, toran with plastic pearls, plastic mask, spray paint; alter with shivaling, vibhuti, sandalwood paste, kumkum, water, painted wooden low floor stool, brass manjira, dhamru, brass ghanti, 4 metal prints, incense sticks, dhoop, camphor, raw rice, black sesame seeds, candles, ghee, 2 coconuts, rudrakhsa beads, sandalwood mala beads, fresh flowers, fireproof tiles, slate, copper pots and various other ritualistic objects.

A series of five live performances by my alter ego Swan Nemesis, re-activated the installation Black Case Volume III after Joseph Jarman (2022), at specific times during the opening and closing weekends of Whitstable Biennale.

I prepared for the performances by fasting before each iteration. They integrated aspects of Dhyāna, Prānāyāma and Vedic rituals from Hinduism; while borrowing elements from the sonic and cultural traditions of Animism, Buddhism, Islam, Rastafari and Sufism to coexist in the hypnotic tensions created from incantation, sound, somatics, non-linear time and ancient cosmologies.

Evolving over the five performances to create an improvised and multi-layered series of rituals. Various objects were used as part of the ceremony of performances as seen in the video, these included a brass ghanti that belonged to my great grandmother and had travelled with her from northern India to the east coast of Africa and on to the south-east coast of England carried by her descendants.

On entering a hot humid space where the ground was entirely covered in fresh moist turf, people could observe a low hanging cloud of smoke slowly rising and dissipating to reveal my alter ego Swan Nemesis sat at the alter area set out on the turf in one half of the space; with my back turned to the audience and facing the video projection on the main wall. Straw mats were placed on the ground on top of the moist turf, seating for a maximum of ten people as they faced the alter and a large video projection of Tiger Vision on the far wall while experiencing the very visceral and physical nature of the soundscape.

There was a fragrant mix of soil, turf, various offerings and incense in the air. Insects crawled on the grass and flew in the space as it evolved throughout the week and from each of the five live performances of Sādhanā. Each one calling upon my parents and ancestors, becoming a totally immersive, multi-sensory experience in a living, breathing, spiritual space, part of a personal practice of self care to start to heal from racial trauma; confronting the audience with a text video presenting personal reflections on centuries of colonial violence.

Before setting up the various elements of the installation space, alter and performance area, it was sonically cleansed through religious chants in Sanskrit, the Azaan from Islam and music including Hindustani Classical, Carnatic, Baul, Gnawa, Qawwali, Nyabinghi and Roots Reggae. Dhoop, incense and camphor were burned in the space to further cleanse it of its original use as the safe room in a disused bank.

The video above presents excerpts from the second of five performances of Sādhanā. Written and conceived while in a meditative trance state attained through the practice of Chilla, each performance forms part of a ceremonial ritual invoking the symbolism of the tiger; a figure emblematic of resistance, identity and pride in culture.

Commissioned by Cement Fields for Whitstable Biennale 2022
Video and photos by Olby’s Visual