Design Lab, Performing Arts: Incarnation

From an initial introduction to Sade in May 2024, this collaborative project developed through working remotely between London and Chiang Mai since early June until the end of August when we met again in Chiang Mai and then took the embryonic project through to a performance in Base Box theatre at TCDC in Chiang Mai on 5th September 2024.

Strangely enough the themes in this work flow naturally from my interests in Sci-Fi and Trans-humanism. In my Sleeves projects these are touching on the subject of re-incarnation, and indeed can be seen as a re-imagining of re-incarnation.

This Incarnation is the story of ‘becoming’, in fact of becoming Sade. It is the story of her life, but it is not a documentary – we have allowed ourselves some creative freedom. Freedom also being an underlying theme in this project.

As I’ve been working with Sade of the past few months I have realised that there are quite a few aspects of her life which are very similar to my own. From an early age I knew that I must be self reliant and I dreamt that one day I would have my own home which would be a safe and happy place.

So incarnation is a hybrid of video installation and performance art. All the video is performance, crafted to help us see it differently and perhaps to see the beauty which, although it has always been there, we tend to overlook because of familiarity – defamiliarisation (verfremdungseffekt).

Sade tells her story using her hands in a way sometimes reflective, contemplative, sometimes violent, sometimes defiant and determined and sometimes romantic and celebratory.

We start in the difficult early years, through the crazy Bangkok years of change and more recently in Banthi Lampoun. The story is therefore in three acts.

Act one: Scene one, School. Scene two, At home with parents.

First dance: Dream- Embodied as a seagull learning to fly.

Act two: Scene one, Calypso club. Scene two, Transition. Scene three, Courting.

Second Dance: Dream- Seagull and mate.

Act three: Scene one, Constructing new home. Scene two, Celebration.

Third Dance: Dream- Becoming Sade

Overall running time: 30mins