2020
Erosion of Democracy Trilogy [part 3]
UNDERNEATH [28:08 min]
is the 3rd part of my Erosion of Democracy trilogy ... while the first two ask how democracy is changed underneath people's feet and what the actual capital of a democratic society is ... this one digs deep and investigates what roles inherited stress and trauma, fear, anger, guilt, shame, as well as learned behavior play in the rise of extreme leadership. In ‘UNDERNEATH’ the performers grapple with holding two spaces, that of white privilege, and a reckoning with its history of cruelty - past and present. It is an attempt to find pathways to avoid repeating history and changing habitual patterns. The perspectives of the performers form the lens of this investigation: A German, bisexual woman descendent of parents who were children in the Second World War, and a queer man. The artists bring into focus the privilege white skin provides and the weight of its inheritance. They emphasize the transformative healing needed in order to overcome habitual patterns of Otherness and the perpetuation of power structures including violence ranging from self harm, racism to armed conflict.
commissioned by / ProArts Gallery / Oakland
director, research, concept & editor / Tanja London
artistic collaborators & performance / Erik Wagner & Tanja London
artistic collaborator, lighting & camera / Camila Magrane
artistic collaborator, projections & text / Justin Watson
music / qualia-c / reciting an old song from the Norse Healing Tradition
breast bricks / Jenny Page & Tanja London
location / Old San Francisco Mint Building
sponsored by
National Endowment for the Arts
Pete Glitchstern
Tanja London
Erik Wagner
Camila Magrane
THANKS
Natalia Mount / ProArts Gallery / Oakland
Pete Glitchstern / old SF Mint Building
Jo Lopez / old SF Mint Building
James & Kevin / NON PLUS ULTRA
Weidong Yang / Kinetech Arts
Paul Roessler / Kitten Robot Studios / LA
David Beaudry / Noble Movement Academy
screened at
2020
Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA/USA [online]
Performance Mix Festival, New York City, NY/USA [online]
Fundraiser for democratic forces, Oakland, CA/USA [online]