JAHRA WASASALA
Born and raised in Aotearoa, New Zealand and with heritage that traces back to Fiji, Jahra ‘Rager’ Wasasala is an award-winning cross-disciplinary artist of Fijian/NZ European descent. In some languages, the name Jahra translates literally to ‘vessel’, which is fitting for an artist who is dedicated to using her body and her voice as a force for healing. She dances with such a potent emotive force, it transcends the realm of physical and becomes something far more spiritual; eternal, even. As an artist, Jahra investigates her ancestral connections through the art mediums of performance activation, contemporary dance and poetry, and has extensively toured her performance works both nationally and internationally.
GODDESS KALI
Kali, also known as Kalika, is a Hindu goddess. Kali is one of the ten Mahavidyas, a list which combines Sakta and Buddhist goddesses. Kali's earliest appearance is that of a destroyer of evil forces. Over time, she has been worshipped by devotional movements and tantric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Adi Shakti, or Adi Parashakt. Hindu and Tantric sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She is also seen as divine protector and the one who bestows moksha, or liberation.
I used this artwork to combine a powerful real-life woman who inspires me with her spirit and sense of righteous anger (Jahra) with an inspiring, powerful "idea" or divine force (Kali), both strong, female, creators and destroyers.
"My Existence is Resistance." -Jahra
I can be found where self-worship and self-destruction embrace each other.
I cannot tell my own body's trauma/joy from another.
You say I scream.
I don't scream.
I howl.
I will hold your tongue.
No, I will take your tongue.
Now. I will howl into your mouth.
Calling into every abandoned space left in your body.
Until your teeth rattle. like starved dogs in a cage.
Until your throat melts.
Your lungs will reject themselves and choose my voice as the only oxygen/religion.
You will quickly learn me in every tongue the world has forgotten.
I will call up your humanity. Your mothers. Your land. Your children.
I will bleed you dry.
Leave you dehydrated.
foaming at the lips.
the god in me will want to spit in your mouth. but I will resist her.
instead, I will show you how to drink the whole of the moana.
a belly. full. of your own salt water.
leaving you on the verge of drowning.
on the verge of death.
in between this world.
and the next.
your body will choose whether or not it returns with you.
I will do this because we love you.
and we need you.
we need you.
to heal. now.
I cannot tell my own body's trauma/joy from another.
You say I scream.
I don't scream.
I howl.
I will hold your tongue.
No, I will take your tongue.
Now. I will howl into your mouth.
Calling into every abandoned space left in your body.
Until your teeth rattle. like starved dogs in a cage.
Until your throat melts.
Your lungs will reject themselves and choose my voice as the only oxygen/religion.
You will quickly learn me in every tongue the world has forgotten.
I will call up your humanity. Your mothers. Your land. Your children.
I will bleed you dry.
Leave you dehydrated.
foaming at the lips.
the god in me will want to spit in your mouth. but I will resist her.
instead, I will show you how to drink the whole of the moana.
a belly. full. of your own salt water.
leaving you on the verge of drowning.
on the verge of death.
in between this world.
and the next.
your body will choose whether or not it returns with you.
I will do this because we love you.
and we need you.
we need you.
to heal. now.
-Jahra Wasasala
(@jahrager)
