Vibe. The Weight of Sand

Vibe: The Weight of Sand is a performance inspired by the cosmogony of Black Africa, where objects, gestures and words are part of the same relational system. In this domain, functionality and symbolism coexist without hierarchies: the everyday can become a ritual, and the simplest of gestures might reveal a profound, ancestral side of things.

This piece takes shape as an act of divination occurring in a contemporary urban context. Instead of percussion, we use sand and electronic devices to create frequences able to move it. We then draw over top of this living surface, evoking ephemeral forms, enabling them to appear, as if matter were trying to speak.

Sand represents vibration, latent energy and movement.

The stool represents weight, a centre and stability.

At the heart of the action we have the nkoh, a stool from ethnic Bamileke culture. I sit on it covered by a large piece of cloth that transforms the body into an almost pyramidal figure. The stool is a seat, drum, throne and memory itself: the hidden chair; the grandfather’s throne; the chair at the door, waiting without expecting anyone; the presence the body resonates from.

Two cameras film the drawing tables and project the images on the wall. In this way, the hands working the sand become a kind of digital divination: shaky traces, hesitant gestures, ongoing appearances and disappearances.

The performance also explores other ways of holding up and moving the body. Carrying someone on your back, like a child; improvising seating with sacks or unstable structures; moving an elderly person between two poles from one village to another. Here the chair is not just a functional object, but an extension of the body, an instrument of survival, care and transmission.

A visible chair.

Another that is invisible.

The chair of life.

Xumo Nunjo. An independent artist, musician and producer from Cameroon, based in Barcelona. His grandparents initiated him in traditional Bamileke performing arts, which would have a powerful impact on his artistic sensibility and creative path. His interests include architecture, art history, anthropology, theatre and the visual arts, all of which contribute to his original, cross-disciplinary work. In his career he has participated in the creation and production of stage shows, recordings, performance art, street art projects and advertising campaigns. He has performed in throughout Europe, the United States, Asia and Africa, presenting original work that reflects on his abundant artistic universe.

Angel Ihosvanny. A multidisciplinary artist living and working between Barcelona and Luanda. His practice encompasses painting, installation, video and music, addressing themes in contemporary urban planning, consumerism and the transformation of the environment. He has exhibited in international events like the Luanda Triennale and the Venice Biennale.

Series “The Chairs of Tàpies” are curated by Judith Barnés.