NIYA B / EKDYSIS

Niya B | Ekdysis  

Single-channel video

In Greek mythology, the seer Tiresias was allegedly transformed into a woman for seven years for disturbing two copulating snakes on Mount Cyllene. Niya B re-reads this myth from an eco-transfeminist lens through ritual performances, workshops and sonic explorations. The project is called ‘Ekdysis’ – the biological term referring to the process of shedding the external layer of the skin in reptiles. Counteracting the traditional, patriarchal way of manufacturing history, Niya B engages with her own autobiography to re-envision this metamorphosis as a transgender mythopoesis, which is directly affected by ecology, the feminine/Other and the non-human.

‘Ekdysis’ is an ongoing project, which is displayed through live actions, moving image and installations. In this iteration, Ekdysis manifests as a single-channel video following an autoethnographic journey in the land that holds the mythological events of metamorphosis.

Still from video, Performance on site, Mount Cyllene, Greece. (Filming by Betty Gkountani)

Project credits:

This project has been made possible with support from Arts Council National Lottery Grants, Ugly Duck, ]performance s p a c e [, x-church and Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest.

Bio

Niya B is a transfeminist artist, working at the intersections of visual art and performance exploring themes related to ecology, (trans)gender politics and equity in mental health. Niya uses video, soundscapes, text and live acts to create a meditative space of vulnerability, affect and interdependence.

Selected shows include:

From Tomorrow (Tate Britain, London); WIP: Work in Progress/Working Process (online); Cultural Institute commission (Leeds); Futureless (Somos Art, Berlin); Ekdysis, solo (Enclave, London); NEoN digital arts festival (Dundee); Unfix (CCA, Glasgow); Eco-futures festival, Disorders, Translucent, Queer Artists Now, Fringe!, @disturbance (London); Emergency (Manchester); Trans:plant, solo (London), International Print Biennale (Newcastle); 5th Moscow Biennale; 5th Thessaloniki Biennale.

Niya was awarded with an a-n bursary and a Jerwood bursary in 2020. Ekdysis installation will feature in the publication Future Now (Aesthetica 2021).

#ekdysis