I had an opportunity to see Peter van Heerden for the second time. He is a South African performance artist. When you hear that, you might be expecting certain appearance of this person. What makes him unique is that he is a white Afrikaans who grew up through apartheid. His continuing research surrounding white masculinity has been also leading to larger issues the African society faces. In some dvd footage and the live performance of his recent work, "Ubuntu" (see his interview with city paper http://www2.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=19344) his voice screamed and whispered through striking imageries executed with sheer physicality, exposing the violence and his vulnerable self in the society.Although, this might not be exactly what he is focusing, I felt a strong sense of displacement, which is at the core of my own work.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, 'to displace' means:
1. a : to remove from the usual or proper place; specifically : to expel or force to flee from home or homeland <displaced persons> b : to remove from an office, status, or job c obsolete : to drive out : banish
2
a : to move physically out of position <a floating object displaces water> b : to take the place of (as in a chemical reaction)
a : to remove from the usual or proper place; specifically : to expel or force to flee from home or homeland <displaced persons> b : to remove from an office, status, or job c obsolete : to drive out : banish2a : to move physically out of position <a floating object displaces water> b : to take the place of (as in a chemical reaction)
It seems that 'displacement' involves 1) external force; 2) one is moved from one place to another. In this sense, neither Peter nor I fit this definition. But this sense of 'displacement' comes from the feeling that I was displaced from the 'proper' place and I don't know where this 'proper' place is. Or I could say, I displaced myself from my homeland to another place because I was already feeling a sense of 'displacement'. And in this new place (relatively speaking), I still feel 'out of place' - displaced.
Perhaps 'displacement' for me isn't really a political or physical matter but more of an existential one of 'not fitting'. Or perhaps maybe I feel a sense of 'displaced' farther away from 'self'.