Beginning amongst the poised rock sculptures she installed in Tate’s Tanks, this performance draws us into the museum’s Turbine Hall through sound and movement.
Dancers Yinka Esi Graves, Marguerite Hemmings and Joyce Edwards are joined by nora chipaumire’s regular ‘corroborators’, a group of ten Zimbabwean, German and US musicians to celebrate gadzi (shortened from gadziguru), the oldest female being and creative force tied to the legends of the Shona people.
chipaumire’s practice draws on influences from Shona spirituality, and the Zimbabwean revolutionary sounds of chimurenga. In her words, ‘The sound is air, vibration, and wind.’
This new performance incorporates chipaumire’s iconic sound-system, ‘a mountain of speaking wood’ broadcasting the deep bass of dub music alongside saxophone guitar and Zimbabwean mbira. Overseen by a wire sculpture of gadzi, the performance responds to the precarious stability of Zimbabwe’s Balancing Rocks through movement. It invites audiences to ponder: What is the meaning of balance? How do we find equilibrium? Are these even the right questions for our time?
The performances will begin in Tate Modern’s East Tank, before progressing through the Tanks Lobby and into the Turbine Hall. Access to the whole performance will be guaranteed with a free ticket, but all visitors are invited to join and dance as the artists move through Tate Modern.
The Infinities Commission is supported by Glass Castle Foundation.