Patti Smith declares in her iconic song, Rock 'n' Roll Nigger “I haven't fucked much with the past, but I fuck plenty with the future."
Spurred by this dare proclamation in making her current work #PUNK, nora chipaumire declares herself to be an “African nigger” — the sort who fucks with the past, and fucks even harder with the present and the future. #PUNK is chipaumire's first statement in a multi-part song cycle inspired by her formation, growing up in 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s in Zimbabwe.
Part of a tryptic titled #PUNK 100% POP*NIGGA (verbalized as “Hashtag Punk, One hundred percent Pop Star NIGGA”), these works confront and celebrates the bodies and aesthetics of iconic women: Patti Smith (#PUNK), Grace Jones (100% POP), and Rit Nzele (*NIGGA).
Born with inherited historic and political contradictions, chipaumire’s work questions how status and power are experienced and presented through the body. The human body for her, and for those born without property, name or class, possesses a possible salvation, as a vehicle for the manifestation of self-invention and self-determination.
Part of American Realness 2018
Co-presented with Gibney Dance
