Workshop: Avec les Invisibles

© Acéphale Studio

On June 11th, I organized an afternoon of workshops. The event was titled « Avec les Invisibles » (With the Invisibles) in reference to the name that is given to a class of entities in Vodun and other African religions.

The aim was to create a place of liberation and self expression where Black individuals (mostly women and gender-fluid people) could reconnect with their power and intuition.

The first workshop was guided by myself. I introduced the participants to the art of Ulì, a divinatory practice we couldn’t appropriate and truly reproduce but could definitely take inspiration from. Ulì is a form of abstract art inspired by nature and its laws. It was created and perpetuated by Igbo women as a way to first decorate their own bodies the same way some use make-up nowadays. Because of its symbolism, it was also painted on the walls of temples.

With the advent of colonization, settlers discouraged them from painting these abstract fables on their bodies and commanded to do it on furnitures and papers that were later sold and brought to Europe by those same disturbing forces.

So, after establishing context, I was able to reveal some of the meaning behind the symbols as an attempt to show how the cyclicality of nature can be used to describe different notions, from God themselves to the head of a kola nut. 3 minutes of grounding meditation then followed, then we began painting on canvas made by artist Eden Tinto Collins, with the help of children who often visit our studio (as they live nearby).

The session was followed by a snack break, which allowed us to rest and recharge for the second workshop: a liberating singing workshop (« atelier de chant libératoire ») animated by Anna Tje « The Supernova ».

They gave us a series of exercices based on ambient sounds, repetition, harmonies and tones. Each one was separated by a brief discussion where each participant could share their thoughts and opinion.