Under the festival buzz with KITFest at the Kenya National Theatre, Joseph Obel spares time to have a chat about ‘My Body Betrays Me, Again’, his upcoming one-man show.
“What will my body look like ten years from now?”. That is the question that lingered in Obel’s mind back and sparked an idea for a photoshoot, in 2021, to keep track of the gradual change that in turn gave birth to a solo show curated by Maabara Initiative around the same question. Still eager to explore the concept, ‘Mwili na Mtindo’, a three-day workshop focused on body movement later came to be.
In yet another instant of self-learning, a listen to the podcast ‘Nipe Story’ by Kevin Mwachiro in an episode narrated by Jim Chuchu and titled ‘My Body Betrays Me, Again’, the embers of an idea were fanned and birthed this latest project.
Adapted from an essay of the same title by Ndegwa Nguru, the podcast inspired Obel to craft yet another one-man piece focusing on the weight our bodies carry in different spaces and the stereotypes that arise from ourselves and others depending on the prevailing environment.
No one can deny the fact that our bodies bend in a certain way when pressure is exerted on them. Some of it is anxiety, inner pressure, some of it is trauma for being different. These can be insults, harassment, unwelcome compliments, flattery, rejection, physical violence… it all comes from the world outside of you. All these affect our bodies.”he explains
A performing artiste and fashion model, Joseph Obel has been intentional on art focusing on the elements of the body. He explores the journey of the body moving through different spaces, interacting with different people through the medium of Sound, Video Art, Movement and Narration.
Obel’s ‘My Body Betrays Me, Again’ will be showcasing at FEMLAB (Basement, The Mall, Westlands) on November 21, 2023.
Nyakua Tikiti yako SASA HIVI via the Link http://mybodybetraysme.hustlesasa.com
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