tether
tether is a video piece that meditates on Kelechi Agwuncha's subconscious childhood memories of performance. It creates a new ritual that bridges their recollections of playing tetherball with the vivid experience of witnessing traditional Ojiọnu Igbo masquerade figures, embodying an uncensored reality. This multi-layered spiritual performance also reflects on tethering as a meditation on the power dynamics of self-imposed restraint on the body.
2024
Garage Theater curated by Kristyn McKinney, hosted at Talking
Dolls 2021, Gallery, Detroit, Michigan +
Performed with Otodojo
Photo by Juan David CanoOtodojo (Maro Kariya, PhD) is an audiovisual artist who wishes to use multimedia to connect and motivate people towards changing systems that threaten environments. They weave together sonic stories through field and object recordings, processed vocals, contact-mic'd materials, and layers of synthetic sounds inspired by the natural world and imagined bio-cybernetic futures.
2023
Currents New Media Festival, Santa Fe, New Mexico +
Performed with Eva Marie Gonzalez Ruskiewicz
Eva Marie Gonzalez Ruskiewicz (they/them) is a PhD student in UC San Diego’s department of Communication, with a specialization in Critical Gender Studies. They work at the intersection of transgender studies and performance studies, focusing primarily on trans- and queer dancers of color. Prior to graduate school, Eva was a public school music teacher. Outside of the academy, they are a singer-songwriter, beginner ballet dancer, and cat dad.
Black Harvest Film Festival, Chicago Illinois +
Performed with BSA Gold & Semiratruth
Semiratruth (based in Brooklyn, NY) is [a musician and] the voice for themselves and their ancestors...From the city’s South Side [they] use their platform to represent the accumulated perspectives and stories of the ones who came before them. Admired for their captivating opening lines, Semiratruth’s background in slam poetry can be heard throughout her wordplay. Her sound travels through time and space, further creating depth within their storytelling. Influenced by 60’s vocal groups, Semiratruth’s instrumentals rely heavily on chopped up soul and jazz samples and repurposing these older sounds with contemporary elements of electronic music ultimately contribute to the complexity and shape of their mixes. – written by Ellie Naughton in These Days Magazine
BSA Gold (Barédu Ahmed) is a producer and flautist from Washington, DC, based in Chicago, IL. Inspired by the sonic landscapes of Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, and her ancestry, she explores spirituality, self-understanding, and the possibilities of composition through synths and electronics.
2022
Univ. of San Diego SME Building, San Diego +
Performed with Eva Marie Gonzalez Ruskiewicz