Obi Mbu (The Primordial House) (2021)
Summary
Obi Mbu (The Primordial House) (2021) is a 30 minute experimental dance film that is centered in the Primordial House, located in the Sirius star system, from which creation emerges. Eke-Nnechukwu, the Igbo high god, and Chukwu, Her masculine counterpart, exist in perfect unity in and as the Blackness of space. Although They are dual aspects of the Primordial Androgynous deity, Chukwu sections off a part of space exclusively for Himself in the form of a sacred pillared chamber in the heart of the Primordial House. He engages in a secret work by dancing in and out of this chamber, which sets off a chain of irrevocable circumstances that lead to our current world and condition.
Directors: Mikael Owunna & Marques Redd
Movement Director: Ursula Payne
Chukwu: Corey Bourbonniere
Eke-Nnechukwu: Victoria Watford
Sound Design: Herman Pearl / soy s0s
Producer: Marquita Sams
Production Assistant: Isabelle Analo
Movement Consultant: Marquita Sams
Screenings
2021
New York City: ClampArt Gallery, September 17 - October 30, 2021
Opening Reception: Friday, September 17, 2021, 6-8pm
Los Angeles: Iris Project Gallery, November 6 - December 19, 2021
Screenings with Artist Talks:
Saturday, November 6, 2021: 3PM
Saturday, November 20, 2021: 3PM
Saturday, December 18, 2021: 2PM
Raleigh, NC: Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, November 14 & 18, 2021
Sunday, November 14, 2021: 5-8pm
Thursday, November 18, 2021: 7-9pm
Big Sur, CA: The Esalen Institute, December 8, 2021, 7pm
2022
Pittsburgh, PA: Kelly Strayhorn Theater, February 25, 2022, 7pm
Chautauqua, NY: Chautauqua Institution, June 26 - August 7, 2022
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 26, 2022, 6-8pm
Martha's Vineyard, MA: Mariposa Museum & World Cultural Center, July 5 & 8, 2022
Tuesday, July 5, 2022: 4PM
Friday, July 8, 2022: 4PM
Pittsburgh, PA: AlphaLab, August 9, 2022
Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Museum of Art, October 7, 2022 - December 31, 2024
Big Sur, CA: The Esalen Institute, October 21, 2022
Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Silicon Valley Archives, October 26, 2022, 6pm
Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University, November 8 & 16, 2022
2023
Rancho Cucamonga, CA: Chaffey College, February 8, 2023, 12:30pm
Cambridge, MA: MIT Media Lab, March 15, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Frick Fine Arts Building, March 16, 2023, 7:30pm
Big Sur, CA: The Esalen Institute, May 20, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA: Miller Institute for Contemporary Art - Carnegie Mellon University, July 29 - September 3, 2023
Opening Reception: July 28, 2023
Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College School of French, August 10, 2023
Columbus, GA: Columbus State University Illges Gallery, Southeast Chapter of the Society for Photographic Education, Imagining New Futures,
October 13 - November 11, 2023
2024
Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, February 7, 2024
Portland, OR: Blue Sky, Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, June 6 - 29, 2024
The filming of "Obi Mbu (The Primordial House)" was made possible with the support of the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Grants Program, a partnership of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments.