What comes to mind when you think of apples?
It’s a simple question, but the answer is a window into a vast patchwork of cultural references: whether they’re a reminder of biblical sin; Twilight Whether it be book covers, Gwyneth Paltrow’s eldest daughter, sophisticated tech monopolies, Helen of Troy, or the theft of Native American land gained by planting fruit trees on North American soil.
It’s not about apples Aibobo III: Little Dollhouse on the PrairieBut an interest in a range of references, from the sacred and spiritual to pop culture and the profane, is at the heart of this performance piece.
“I’m heavily immersed in pop culture,” multifaceted artist and creator Elle Barbara says in the video, “and I thought it would be interesting to weave parallels between our current identity and the fact that modern culture has been around for a long time.”
Created in collaboration with Barbara’s Ball Family, the Idiosyncratic House of Barbara Aibobo III In the show, performers take on the roles of various loa (Haitian Voodoo spirits) and speak to the contemporary Black queer and transgender experience.
In one section, Kristen M. Barbara plays Erzulie, the goddess of love, discussing black queer performance, while in another, Kim Ninkle plays Marinette, the powerful priestess who helped spark the Haitian Revolution. Mortal Kombat soundtrack.
“This is a story of revolutionary inspiration and liberation,” Barbara comments, “but it can also be read as a story of black trans women fighting and rebelling against violent realities. This is not just a story of our ancestors, but also our contemporary experience.”
The work’s title itself explores the juxtaposition of the classical and the contemporary: “Ibobo” is a Voodoo liturgical term similar to “Amen” or “Hallelujah,” while “Little Doll House on the Prairie” encompasses both Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic story and “doll,” an affectionate slang term for a transgender woman.
Barbara, a Haitian transgender woman who didn’t grow up practicing Voodoo, said she wanted to create something inspired by the religion after learning more about it.
“Through my chance exposure to Voodoo culture through documentaries when I was younger, and through my own research, I learned that gender differences are deeply rooted in Voodoo logic,” she explains. “I realized that maybe that part of my ancestral culture had been hidden from me, and that it might have been easier for me to embrace it.” [queer] If I had been exposed to voodoo logic, I would not have been able to understand this identity, and I thought this show would be a really good idea.”
Aibobo IIIThe work, which premieres in Vancouver this weekend as part of the Queer Arts Festival, had its first two chapters at Montreal’s Lux Magna festival in 2019 and 2020. The early works were “very punk, very DIY,” Barbara recalls, and have become more refined over time. After a pandemic hiatus, the latest version premiered at Theatre La Chapelle last fall, where it sold out for a week of performances.
“It’s mainly an evolution from the second to the third installment,” she says, “We definitely took some of our past work and recreated it in a smarter, more consistent way.”
The result is a swirl of overlapping references: punchy moves and tracks that feature everything from Prince songs to clips. America’s Next Top ModelIntense and clever, the performers draw on the specific and shared experiences of Black queerness, inviting endless interpretations and encouraging audiences to consider what personally resonates with them.
“It’s very complex. I think there are many different ways to interpret this show,” she adds, then smiles: “That’s why I think audiences should come back and see it again and again.”
Aibobo III: Little Dollhouse on the Prairie
when: June 15 and 16, 7 p.m.
where: Roundhouse Community and Arts Centre
Admission fee: Pay the amount you want. Register here
