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Four/Four presents ‘O’ Pierrot’ by Tanoa Sasraku as part of ‘Why I Brought You Here’, a series of moving image works from UK and international emerging artists.

The work will be available to view on the Four/Four home page from 7pm on Monday 7th December, until the 21st: https://www.fourfourcollective.org/

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Employing the narrative of Pierrot the Clown and the aesthetic of Kenneth Anger’s pioneering avant-garde, queer film Rabbit’s Moon, O’ Pierrot explores the quest for British identity from a lesbian, mixed-race, British perspective.

The life goal of Pierrot Mulatto (played by the artist) is to catch a giant sycamore seed that spins down every day from the arms of Harlequin Jack, a crazed black man in whiteface, driven mad by his own quest for British acceptance. Jack toys with Pierrot throughout the story, performing a satirical essence of white British sensibility whilst referencing early minstrel troupes’ caricatures of the post-slavery, black populace. Mixed-race Pierrot is encouraged to strive for her ‘white potential’ whilst battling rejection, rage, and the bending of time amidst the English countryside.

The story of the black, British experience: one driven by misplaced loyalty, melancholy, and historical reprise stands as a mirror to the traditional tale of Pierrot’s existence under Harlequin’s thumb. This forms the narrative pillar for Sasraku’s semi-autobiographical fairytale, shot on 8mm film, whilst the script is built upon a colliding of verses from the Jim Crow-era song ‘Jump Jim Crow’ and lesser-known passages from the British National Anthem.

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www.tanoasasraku.com
@san.esi
Tanoa Sasraku, Arts Foundation Futures Award 2021: Finalist’s Profile –

Sasraku, Tanoa

fourfourcollective.org
@44_collective

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