Illusions Vol. I, Narcissus and Echo

Retelling of the Greek myth. Grada Kilomba's 'Oedipus' tells a story about violence, exploring the role that fate can play for those who live in a system that reproduces cyclical oppression.

Retelling of the Greek myth. Grada Kilomba's 'Antigone' relates a story of resistance and justice, told from a black feminist perspective, in which the protagonist rebels against the colonial patriarchal system to bury her brother, transforming the burial into a political act against the oblivion of faces and reminding the spectator of the exploitation and death of black workers in colonial plantations.

An exploration of everyday racism reveals how much this places the black subject in a colonial setting where they once again are reduced to the subordinate, exotic 'Other'. Racism allows the past to suddenly line up with the present, and the present is experienced as if one were being catapulted back into that painful past.

An exploration of everyday racism reveals how much this places the black subject in a colonial setting where they once again are reduced to the subordinate, exotic 'Other'. Racism allows the past to suddenly line up with the present, and the present is experienced as if one were being catapulted back into that painful past.

With the written word as the only visual element, Grada Kilomba gives a voice to an individual who has been historically silenced by colonial narratives. "In this experimental video," the artist states, "I explore how thoughts can be associated not only with theory, but especially with sounds, movement and emotions."