Film: “A home for you I will create with exit pathways”

What does it truly mean to feel a sense of belonging in a place? What nurtures this innate connection, this spontaneous harmony between oneself and the environment, and what are the circumstances that give rise to this feeling of being at ‘home’? In “Nitakujengea Kinyumba, na Vikuta Vya Kupitia” (A Home for You I Will Create, with Exit Pathways), these inquiries are at the forefront. Through her project, Chachage delves into the complexity and diversity of the phenomenon of rootedness by performing alongside narratives and memories inherited from her matrilineage—those of Nankondo, Bibi Mkunde, and Mama Demere. Central to the performance is the transient nature of this sensation and its inherently fragile political implications. The performance space serves as both a stage and a mental nexus: Chachage meticulously crafts an associative environment using a curated selection of natural materials, within which memories from stories, songs, rituals, and oral traditions are etched. Through her performance, Chachage actively engages with this environment, navigating the role of her body and its interactions with others in the quest for a sense of home. Yet, the fleeting nature of performance as a medium underscore the idea that any feeling of belonging is indefinite and susceptible to disruption at any moment.

Rehema Chachage has an expanded practice which extends to her mother and grandmother through process-based research. Together, they create a ‘performative archive’ which untraditionally ‘collects’ and ‘organizes’ stories, practices, rituals and other oral traditions in different media; performance, photography, olfactory, video, essays and text, as well as physical installations. These have often explored the unearthing of history, space, and the body (how the body and the land remember) by using methods that employ storytelling, the matriline, alternative ways of doing and knowing, as well as other methodologies which are both embodied and instinctual.

Cosa significa veramente sentirsi appartenenti a un luogo? Cosa alimenta questa connessione innata, questa spontanea armonia tra sé stessi e l’ambiente? E quali sono le circostanze che danno origine a questo sentimento di sentirsi ‘a casa’? “Nitakujengea Kinyumba, na Vikuta Vya Kupitia” (Una casa per te creerò, dotata di vie d’uscita), pone queste domande al centro dell’attenzione. Con il suo progetto, Chachage si addentra nella complessità e diversità del fenomeno del radicamento, performando sulla scia di narrazioni e ricordi ereditati per via matrilineare—quelli di Nankondo, Bibi Mkunde e Mama Demere. Al cuore della performance sono la natura transitoria di questa sensazione e le sue implicazioni politiche intrinsecamente fragili. Lo spazio della performance funge sia da palcoscenico che da punto di incontro mentale: Chachage crea meticolosamente un ambiente associativo impiegando un’accurata selezione di materiali naturali, all’interno dei quali vengono incisi ricordi di storie, canzoni, rituali e tradizioni orali. Attraverso la sua performance, Chachage interagisce attivamente con questo ambiente, esplorando il ruolo del proprio corpo e delle sue interazioni con gli altri nella ricerca di un senso di casa. Tuttavia, la natura effimera del mezzo della performance sottolinea l’idea che qualsiasi sentimento di appartenenza è indefinito e passibile di interruzioni in qualsiasi momento.