P.S. I Loved You Once, I Still Do is a performance installation I created as a final project for my Queer Theology class I enrolled in at Candler School of Theology (Emory University). P.S. theorizes loves songs by Black womxn as tools for liberation to explore the connections between Black womanhood, pleasure (sexual or otherwise), and political resistance. Sitting under a tree, I created a site of Black feminine pleasure and memory, embroidering a blanket with the names of Black womxn who have lost their lives to police brutality in the past 20 years, and coronavirus, most recently—while blasting a playlist of classic, R&B, neosoul, and alternative R&B tracks from a speaker. Engaging womanist ethicist and theologian, Emilie Townes's theory of "colored orneriness," this performance asks what it means for Black womxn to practice radical love for themselves, their communities, and their nation in the midst of constant terror and violence? How is the creation of space that affirms Black femme energy also an act of political resistance? I wrote a short reflection to accompany this piece, and created a playlist which you can listen to on Apple Music or Spotify. Photography credit: Lauren Gaia Custom lavender, babydoll dress: Naomi Dale (@naomis.closet.creations)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBrianna Alexis Heath is a dancer, writer, and arts administrator living in Atlanta, GA. Archives
June 2023
Categories |