The cancellation of Exhibit B is really, really disturbing. It is a victory FOR racism and not AGAINST racism. And I can say this because I have actually seen it, something that I suspect the majority of people who signed the petition and/or protested at the opening haven’t. It is an incredibly moving, deeply challenging and nearly unbearable work of art. And like any work of art, it needs to be seen to be properly appreciated. It needs to be witnessed before it can be felt or even usefully discussed. A plot synopsis of a book is not the book. A print of a painting is not the painting. Being seen, or not being seen, is precisely the knife-edge of balance on which Exhibit B precariously sits. The performers are not statues, they are not passive; their eyes are always moving, watching us, the audience, as we move through the performing space. In doing so, they silently force us to ask ourselves: Are we really seeing them? Have we ever seen them? Can we ever see them? I left the performance still wondering about these questions, feeling perhaps that I had failed miserably at seeing them as well as I should; but nonetheless, indescribably moved and definitely changed. Did I think it was racist? No. Did I think it was obscene? I don’t know. Can something be so frank about such obscene acts of violence without also being somewhat obscene? I don’t think so. For me, it worked. It wouldn’t for everybody. But we can decide that for ourselves. Once we have seen it, that is..... But now, with the cancellation of its London performances, Exhibit B can’t work at all. It can’t change anybody, or to even hope that some people might see things a bit differently after witnessing it. It literally WILL NOT be seen. So that answers that! The people who argued against the show and who have kept it from being seen have done exactly what they thought they were preventing; they have discriminated against and disempowered a group of powerful individuals they had never even met. And they have kept many others from meeting, and possibly really seeing them, as well. theguardian/culture/2014/sep/24/slavery-exhibition-black-actors-cages-shut-down
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:05:59 +0000
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