Worldmaking through Embodiment
Client: UCI Humanities Center
Collaborators: Judy Wu & Ekua Arhin
The phrase "Worldmaking through Embodiment" draws parallel themes to kintsugi ("golden joinery") and the performative power of dance. In kintsugi, shattered ceramic pieces are mended together by the adherence of lacquer and dusted with the grandeur of gold. The lacquer highlights the reparative history and the imperfect, boundless beauty that exists—and simultaneously creating a new epistemic horizon for new possibilities, new landscapes, and new worlds to emerge. With dance, emotive movements and expressive gestures garner a resounding sense of evocation, juxtaposed by the impermanence of humanity. Through these collective actions, dance reveals secrets, stories, and sentiments—inspiring others to embody their own narratives and past. Together, the tenable beauty of imperfections and the culmination of expressive dance help manifest an anchor for the audience to create new world in their own eyes—one overflowing with possibilities.
