[CANCELLED] Intersect with: Imani Mason Jordan

UPDATE: We regret to inform you that the event ‘Intersect with: Imani Mason Jordan’ will not occur. We thank all for their interest and care.

On Tuesday 17th of May, join us for a hybrid gathering with interdisciplinary artist and writer Imani Mason Jordan, as part of LADA’s Intersect series.

Imani will talk about their performance TREAD/MILL [Work-in-Progress], share video and audio excerpts, and further explore the work through a creative process they refer to as “speaking as an instrument”. An invited community will join them at LADA’s physical space in the Garrett Centre. The event will be live-streamed, and all are welcome to join virtually via Zoom.

TREAD/MILL is a performance drawing from the history of the penal treadmill, which was utilised as a tool of punishment in British prisons and in the colonies, and tackling themes of material culture, labour, sweat, carceral logics, surveillance, endurance and orality. Across two 19-minute chapters, the full performance includes a recitation of Frederic Rzewski’s 1974 composition “Coming Together”, which repurposes text written by Sam Melville, one of the leaders of the 1971 Attica Prison Rebellion. The first iteration of TREAD/MILL was presented at Somerset House Studios in 2021 with sound by Felix Taylor, and design support and documentation by Joseph June Bond and Rabz Lansiquot.

Imani Mason Jordan (FKA Robinson) is an interdisciplinary writer, artist, editor and facilitator. Their research-led practice combines Live Art and performance, oration, collaboration, poetry and critical theory, exploring themes of black geographies, the afterlives of transatlantic slavery, abolition, radical resistance and the politics of safety. Imani has an MA in Forensic Architecture from CRA, Goldsmiths, University of London and a BA in International Relations and Anthropology from the University of Sussex. They are the author of the pamphlet Objects Who Testify, published by PSS in 2019, as well as of various essays and creative texts online and in print. Their recent performances include Atlantic Railton: LIVE with Ain Bailey at Serpentine Pavilion (2021) and Welcome Note (Quantum Ghost) with Libita Sibungu (various iterations, 2018-2021).

Alongside Rabz Lansiquot, Imani is one half of the artistic and curatorial collaboration Languid Hands, who made the film Towards a Black Testimony: Prayer/Protest/Peace (2019) and curated the homonymous project. Languid Hands were Curatorial Fellows at Cubitt Artists (2020-22), presenting work by R.I.P. Germain, Ajamu X, Camara Taylor and Shenece Oretha. They also curated the 2021 Frieze LIVE programme, commissioning work from Rebecca Bellantoni, Ebun Sodipo and Ashley Holmes.