dirty nails (les ongles noirs)

About

dirty nails (les ongles noirs) is a sticky experimental thing happening between Dakar, Senegal and Birmingham, UK. Each Artist has been invited by melissandre varin to make an offering towards this ever unfolding experiment.

Stewards of the land (visitors, clay, little ones, microscopic insects, artists, soil, ancestors…) compose a space of transmutation, where spirit is summoned through sonic, embodied, and imagined yearnings. As we re-invest in the present with what we have how do we form alternative ways to call in freedom?

The residency in Dakar and exhibition in Birmingham are emerging through rehearsals of non-verbal incantations, re-enactments of degenerative rituals, and gatherings.

les ongles noirs is infused by an intoxicating 'i don't know' which punctuates the ana-choreography of the ever unfolding experiment.

A chain of invitations led us to invite you …

It started with Eastside Projects inviting melissandre varin who in turn invited artistic crushes:

– Maria Muehombo aka M I M I, offering sonic vibrations
– Sym Mendez aka Sym Stellium, offering spiritual care coordination and performance arts
– Ban Workshop, offering hospitality in Dakar, performance instructions, and ceramics
– Jade Blackstock, offering performance arts
– Carmen Wong, offering food ceremonies
– Ayesha Jones, offering still and moving images
– Bronwyn Katz, offering moving images
– Bousebik (6yrs) and Eole (5yrs), offering instructions on how to throw soil on white walls
– Chandos Primary School, offering destruction skills
– Manoj Yoga, offering a special sound bath evening
– Wutangu, offering astrological guidance