Na Chainkua Reindorf

This is an immersive installation project that functions as a contemporary approach meant to undermine the unobstructed male gaze, and redistribute power structures that surround body ownership and policing. This project combines themes of feminism, cultural exploration, the public/private and the mystification of the observed body.

REVEAL || CONCEAL introduces a less familiar art of the West African masquerade, presented in a way that permits visitors into what is considered to be a culturally sacred space. This project also provides a unique experience of being the observer/observed, and also encourages us to think about and experience how it feels and what it means to have our bodies policed.

Visitors are invited to encounter the installation by literally placing themselves within it; an act that transforms them into both a subject and an object. In essence, by encountering the installation, visitors must embrace a willingness to adopt an experience of otherness; both as onlookers and as active participants.