There are some narratives and identities common to the Eastern Nigeria (Igbo) and Japan that most people do not know about. Through the performance tagged ‘Child of the rising sun’, which was held Wednesday last week at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Amaka Obioma ‒ whose father is from Nigeria (Imo State) and mother from Japan (Hiroshima) ‒ showcased these similarities through documentaries, poetry and dance.
The co-curator of the performance, James Notin, said the performance was an inter-disciplinary art that seeks to explore the identities and politics circumferencing Afro-Asian descent, history, fashion and reflection.
Notin further stated that the performance was an intersection of a fluid, yet seemingly fixed identities in the light of World War II, which Japan was directly involved in, Nigerian civil war, patriarchy and capitalist voyeurism.
“The performance is curated to bring people closer to the experience of biracial humans through self-identification,” Notin said.
“The performance centres on the biracial experience of the artist, Amaka Obioma.”
In the first part of the performance, Obioma, in cross-cultural costumes that reflected her dual nationalities, distributed papers containing some poems.
She stated that this was a way of welcoming the audience to her biracial world.
In the second part of the performance, through sounds and documentaries, the audience was privy to the stories of the aftermath of World War II, how the Hiroshima and Nagasaki parts of Japan were destroyed with atomic bomb.
After that was the Biafran story, how the Igbo fought a three-year war whose sad experience still lingers.
In the third part of the performance, Obioma, in her costumes ‒ switching seamlessly through poetry, dance and other forms of artistic gesticulations ‒ showcased her biracial identities and stories on the stage.
Some excerpts from her spoken words go thus: “The heavier our bodies, the higher our will; our spirit, rises above them. The wearier we are, the more splendid the training. (Japan) / Our culture says no condition is permanent. There is constant change in the world. (Biafra).”
On the other hand, some excerpts from the poem go thus: “Many adjectives prelude to me being the sun / It shines brighter regardless / In whatever varying brightness… / What is genetics / Compared to my self-esteem? / Something to show / The truth could be / I don’t fit in anywhere / I was the outdated piece of a befitting puzzle… / For connection knows no bounds.”
Speaking about her stage performance, Obioma said that Igboland and Japan have the rising sun in their flags, and that the two have undergone wars that left them with trauma and sad memories.
“I chose to explore art and history to tell these stories. The art is left for people to interpret,” Obioma said.
“We didn’t show videos and images of war from both places because we didn’t want to display hate and grief. We want you to absorb the information without triggering any sad memories.”
Moses Ayankunle, the sound artist, stated that the sound elements reflected the cultures of Igbo and Japanese people.
He added that the Japanese songs played during the performance were composed with the Japanese shamisen instrument, and that the Nigerian songs were typical of Igbo high-life music.
“Using both sounds you can switch moods between Eastern Nigeria and Eastern Asia,” Ayankunle said.
In the last stage of the performance, Obioma wore a long white gown, holding two bowls containing red and black paints. Some of the people in the audience dipped their fingers inside the paints and made imprints on the gown.
Explaining the significance of the artistic imprints on her gown, Obioma noted that the white gown signifies peace, while the imprints the audience made on it with the paints represent war, trauma and stress.
“Every place has a role to play in your life, no matter how small,” she said. “These identities and stories define who I am as an artist. They are ways I reconcile my inner conflicts with myself.”
Some people in the audience made comments, remarks and criticisms. Adeyosola Adeniran said the performance conceptualised identity problems and the poetry was inspiring.
Folashade Akintunde stated that the performance gave her a new perception of looking at foreign cultures and people.
Odufuwa Morola noted that the performance brought history to light and that identity is not just about people’s appearances, but also some other things that cannot be seen, like inner conflicts.
Before the event came to a close, the event moderator enjoined the audience to observe a moment of silence for the victims of the EndSARS protest, since the event fell on the one year anniversary of the protest against police brutality in Nigeria.
“We hope that those who should listen to our problems will listen or we will force them to listen,” the moderator said. “We hope that one day Nigeria will be a better place.”
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