The Incantation of the Disquieting Muse:
Invocations

The exhibition and performance project deliberates around concepts of the supranatural beyond Western misconceptions – through an exhibition, performances, lectures, and other invocations. The project looks at how witchery phenomena and practices manifest themselves within cultural, economical, political, religious and scientific spaces in Africa and beyond.

Pour en Finir avec le Jugement de Dieu: The Exorcisement of Witchery in Ritual

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” – the biblical statement still condemns ritual practices non-conform with monotheistic religions. This exhibition chapter confronts witchery from a religious and ritual point of view, in an effort to exorcize – not the spirits eminent to witchery but the projections imposed upon witchery. Artaud’s Pour en Finir avec le Jugement de Dieu serves here as a metaphor of witchery as refute, rebellion, queering against a religious and power adjudication as framed within colonial enterprises, and on the other hand witchery as an epitome of and a consent to multiplicity of gods, deities or other supreme beings.

Beyond Abyssal Thinking: Witchery as Epistemology

Witchery practices encompass a wealth of knowledge systems while complex technological concepts like the 0/1-binary computer system are advanced witchery for many. This chapter aims at going beyond abyssal thinking and epistemic blindness to explore other “ecologies of knowledge” (Boaventura de Souza Santos) and reflects on witchery as knowledge production and dissemination, as epistemological systems.

Na who gi you for Nyongo?  On Zombification Economies

This chapter deliberates on manifestations of witchery from an economic perspective. Zombification, the act of sacrificing a human being for economic gain, is referred to as Ekong (Douala), Nyongo (Bakweri), Shipoko (Mozambique), Obasinjom (Banyangi) etc. It could be likened with Marx’ reflections on alienation as wage labour is an alienation of life: one works not in order to live, but in order to obtain a means of life whereby the capitalist owns the labour process. Such is the case with concepts of Nyongo etc. which take their cue from the inception of the capitalist system in the age of slavery.

We see am fo wata: On Supra-realities and Sociopolitics

Anecdotes, myths and other narratives on witchery are omnipresent in many societies, especially in Africa. Be it political ranks, family relations, healing possibilities or power relations; be it in the way society is formed, ruled and protected; be it in literal, cinematic and folkloric expressions – these parallel realities form the backbone of socio-political structures. This is reflected in daily expressions. We see am fo wata (we saw it in water) is an answer to the question: How do you know? It infers the possibility of knowing something, acting, existing and expressing beyond the realm of reason. It is looking into the abyss of the unknown to find answers to questions that still have to be posed.