MTHUTHUZELI ZIMBA
The Mourning Project
Context:
It was just over a month since I had laid my mother’s body to rest. I am back in Cape Town and my friends are having an exhibition at the Greatmore Studios in Woodstock. They ask me if I would want to take part in the exhibition in any capacity and I agree to curate a performance. Initially, I had not given any thought to what the performance would be about until I stumbled upon an old statue of a woman that has always been outside the Studios under a tree. I had seen this statue before but somehow when I looked at it on that day, it carried a motherly aura that reminded me of my recent loss. The immediate encounter inspired me to confront my grief through performance. I then decided to curate a performance tribute that looks into the concept of mourning and loss.
At first, I wondered how or where to begin. I realized that I had hardly had any time to mourn my mother’s passing when I was at home. My recollection is a camouflage of moments of labour and fatigue.
I thought about not just my mother’s passing but many other deaths that I’ve experienced before and wondered if I have ever fully mourned the deaths of those whom I had lost.
In an attempt to challenge myself by being present in this moment of grief, I allowed myself to lean on the presence of my brotherhood to help carry me through vulnerability.
A black man in mourning (1:15 pm)
This is a performance art exploration by a black man in grief, that reflects on a form of mourning loss, driven by song, dance and spoken text. This performance is an attempt to create space for black men in grief to explore vulnerability through mourning loss. In the contemporary world, spaces for black male vulnerability rarely exist, which then leaves black men with unchecked past traumas. This performance becomes a critical inquiry into the hegemonies of black masculinities.
The performance has a duration of 15 minutes. The performer takes the audience through a visceral and sonic experience of grief through song and dance. The project is an interactive performance which draws the public or the audience into the ritual of performance making it a communal experience.
