video premiere: Rina Mushonga – 4qrtrs
Dutch-Zimbabwean artist Rina Mushonga graces us with the premiere of her new video for her infectiously bright and exhilarating Afro-electro-pop club jam "4qrtrs". Mushonga says that the Gugi van der Velden-directed video is "is comprised mainly of 'home-made' self shot footage in Zimbabwe" -- shot mostly on her iPhone and a cheap handheld camcorder -- "combined with vibrant graphic animation". She worked with the Mabvazuva Youth Hub in Mutare to bring together 4 local dance crews, who choreographed their own routines and "posed in sort of tableaus of interpretations of paintings by black African/British/American artists – artists like Kerry James Marshall and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and a Zimbabwean artist called Charles Bhebe." Mushonga tells us about her concept for the wonderfully celebratory visuals, and how she combined footage from her home country with animation to create something so vital, cathartic and life-affirming:
"I wanted to present a narrative that celebrated my Zimbabwean home, as well as which touched on themes of identity and representation...I really wanted the video to pose as a sort of response to the AtalantA video in that way--- Zimbabwe, my other self, my other home. Because of this long distance relationship I have had with Zimbabwe over the last few years it sometimes feels like another galaxy --- I'm drawn to it and feel at home there but there's also this skewed perspective because of the time and distance between us. It's also a small commentary on representation, of people of colour and of 'Africans'. I wanted to celebrate my talented, beautiful homies in a positive, affirming way. We had so much fun making this together and reconnecting after years apart. It really brought home how much they've inspired me and how much I've learned from my friends there. We had this great graphic animator Teun Buursema who helped bring this vibrant, lush and vivid inner 'world' to life."
"4qrtrs" is out now on [PIAS] Recordings. Catch Rina live in London on October 21st at Sebright Arms.