My Barbarian: Double Future at REDCAT
LOCATION:
Roy and Edna Disney Cal Arts Theater (REDCAT)
631 W 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
REDCAT and Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles present Double Future, a double-bill performance by My Barbarian (Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segade).
You Were Born Poor and Poor You Will Die (Performa 05 at Participant Inc., 2005) combines ancient Greek theater, mystery plays, and rock opera to tell the story of a religious cult engaging in human sacrifice to maintain the economic status quo.
Silver Minds (Aspen Art Museum, 2005) employs conventions of Noh theater, New Wave music, and science fiction, in a series of ghost stories about climate change and resource extraction, told from the point of view of tourists who time travel to the past to enjoy nature, which no longer exists.
My Barbarian responds to the contemporary moment with prescient works that address class struggle and environmental collapse. Performed as a sung and spoken-word recital with musical accompaniment, the members of My Barbarian are joined by musicians Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Ethan Philbrick on cello, and RaShonda Reeves on keyboards.
My Barbarian re-performed these works created almost two decades ago on the occasion of their 2022 survey exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, curated by Adrienne Edwards, Engell Speyer Family Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, with Mia Matthias, former Curatorial Assistant. This performance is in conjunction with the Whitney exhibition presentation at ICA LA.
