Kubra Khademi // EMPREMTA 2017 festival internacional de performance

(Afghanistan)

A soul. A human being. A woman. A feminist. A refugee. But what would it matter? Her arts speak all.

Kubra Khademi is an Afghan artist who was born 1989. She is an Afghan performance artist and a feminist based in Paris. Through her practice, Khademi explores her life as a refugee and a woman. She studied fine arts at Kabul University, before attending Beaconhouse National University in Lahore, Pakistan. In Lahore she began to create public performance, a practice she continued upon her return to Kabul, where her work actively responded to a male dominated society by extreme patriarchal politics. After performing her piece known as Armor in 2015, Khademi was forced to flee her home country. She currently lives and works in Paris, France.

Kubra Khademi 18KG PERFORMANCE

performance

The journey continues within the earth, the mother earth, the female mother, the female body, the feminine body with curves – filled with salt which insists on herself, on her salty self. a pregnant woman just like a very much woman. a desired woman, a successful woman who gives birth, who gives life to a living being. The shape disappears slowly and gently in the presence of everyone; her presence, the audience and the water that was ingressing into her body-earth, washes and demolishes her body.

I was a heavy pregnant woman. smiling i walked and set in the space, water start running from above and slowly started melting the salt of my breasts then stomack and buttom. water was cold and it was hard to bear it but i must have waited to get all salt run and disapear with water. my body slightly was shaking because of coldness of water too, it was uncomfortable but my goal was to walk out with no salt under my costume. i was feeling very alone under the gaze of audience even though most of the time i had my eyes close.

I remember i cried for a while but i was sure no one saw it, because i was under so much water, few drops were not visible at all, i think i had pain somehow and slowly i was giving birth.

RESIDENCY PROCESS AND MORE ABOUT THE WORK

www.festivalempremta.com