Play Yuhself was a performance art project funded by the Arts Council of Wales, that utilised aspects of dance, carnival and masquerade found in both the Trinidad Carnival and the Kanaval of Jacmel Haiti. Haiti is an important space for beginning to interpret ideas of self-awareness for Caribbean people and in many ways has the potential to give insight into exploring identity formation within the diaspora. In relation to Carnival and masquerade, Haiti’s images of Jacmel Kanaval documented by Leah Gordon in her book Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the streets of Haiti, have been a source of inspiration for my recent art project experiments, even as I begin to deconstruct my own familiar Trinidad Carnival. Opportunities to experience Haiti’s performances first-hand directly informed this performance project.
See project blog here
