Slipping Into Slipping Away

Western Front is pleased to present a new performance by artist-in-residence Chipo Chipaziwa that marks the launch of her new artist book My Mother My Home.

In My Mother My Home, Chipaziwa remediates her past performances by proposing alternative methodologies of archiving performance art without any photographic depictions of the body. Featuring original texts by Chipaziwa, Denise Ferreira da Silva, and Olumoroti George, and images by Margaret Job-Woodruff, Sophia Lapres, and David Ezra Wang, My Mother My Home interrogates the ever-pervasive white gaze on Black life, art, and being.

While in residence, Chipaziwa furthered this line of inquiry by examining the representation of Black performance artists in Western Front’s archive. Slipping Into Slipping Away explores these intersections in Chipaziwa’s research—remixing content from the publication with reflections on memory, legibility, archives, liminal encounters, psychoanalysis, and the work of Adrian Piper. Taking place on the ground floor of Western Front, Chipaziwa’s performance will play with the power dynamic between the art worker and the visiting public, the archivist and the archived, as a vehicle to trouble traditional audience-performer relations.

My Mother My Home ($25) is available for pre-order online during registration. It will also be available for purchase at Western Front during the performances.

Chipo Chipaziwa is a performance artist based on the traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations (Vancouver, Canada). Her practice considers the performativity of her Black female body within the context of North America, whilst investigating the power dynamic of performer and audience.

Western Front’s reception is wheelchair accessible. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.

What to expect: This intimate thirty-minute performance will take place in Western Front’s reception with a capacity of thirty audience members. While the event will be standing-room-only, seats can be made available for accessibility needs.

Presented with support from the Canada Council for Arts and BC Arts Council, and mentorship from Justine A. Chambers and Autumn Knight.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Western Front, 303 East 8th Avenue, Vancouver, Canada