Divination is a Portal: A Reflection from Jennifer Ligaya
If/Then Creative Process Reflections
What began as a question around the next creation to build as a collective, was clarified as a call to respond to the work of Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayon in Nkame:A Retrospective at the Cultural Center. In the interrogation of her work and process, themes of ritual and meaning making continued to show themselves. At the heart of If/Then is honoring the power of play. We center the magic of the liminal space at the core of making, and have crafted a system that results in a score that is performed. The first rehearsal with Allegra Dolores at Reunion Chi breathed life into our initial imaginings and beautifully set the tone for the work…
Our first score began in person form at ReunionChi…
Seven days thereafter, the world within which we co-created changed. Our systems and tools were now in our own hands. Together with Allegra Dolores, our new collective ritual space transitioned…
If collography were the story, it would now be the snapshot of layers of individual worlds, concurrently occupied in individual, present ways. If movements conjured would reflect the worlds Belkis painted, they would pulse with the rhythms of Abakua, and the ancients. If we now circle in space on screen, we can still feel in sounds, visions, movements, and words.
Perform the service. Make the offering. Mark intention. Get familiar. Listen. Create the ritual. Perform the service. Make the offering…
…these words were crated to open and guide the work…Therefore, the collective continued to build our ritual, crafting during sessions with Norman Long
Divination is a portal in the form of poetry. Binary systems give the reader a language, lending a voice to assist in answering questions. Part of the understanding of a language is repetition, time to practice…in essence, a ritual. In building our method of divination, symbols and metaphors were combed over, choosing our creative vocabulary by tending to: space, quality, form, concepts around the work of Belkis Ayon, proverbs, and options for storytelling. Because there was a sense of understanding between the group, of the process, we had more capacity to be present. As the sessions progressed, the benefit of quality questions could not be ignored. A score of 9 elements was grouped and assigned to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd movements. This was our score, and we began the answering process accordingly.
Within the structure of rhythms that ebb and flow between prompt and response, is the freedom to honor choice. The clarity needed when in the improvisation space is the offering, a way to share in the communication that yielded answers and resulted in this offering.
2ND Movement:
The magic that improvisation allows is clear and palpable in the live in-person exchange. Once our sessions transitioned to the virtual space, a different listening was required. A new eye needed to form, to reveal and receive new synergies, and universal moments that can also be read on screen. Within the structure of rhythms that ebb and flow between prompt and response, is the freedom to honor choice. The clarity needed when in the improvisation space is the offering, a way to share in the communication that yielded answers and resulted in this offering.
We can continue to build systems, with clear questions, and attention to clarity interpretation, and proper tending to the answers.
What is your system? How do you answer your If/Then questions?
Scan the QR code to join us Wednesday, May 13th at 7 pm for our next installation of If/Then, in association with Chicago Cultural Center.
