Tolulope Ami-Williams - MA Performance
Tolulope Ami-Williams is a multidisciplinary artist who responds to the world by combining her body, media, method and materials to stage performances that interrogate the notion of identity (who we are), ancestrality(what is the combination that forms who you are genetically, spiritually, historically, culturally) and empowerment (how does this reflect in what we consider to be knowledge, our philosophy).
She seeks to explore the intricate dynamics of identity formation and negotiation, specifically examining the interplay of intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships within the realms of culture, society, and philosophy. This internal friction of encounter is projected by responding to external triggers related to sociopolitical issues such as climate, education, gender, racism and politics.
Incorporating text murals, sculpture installations, photography, and sound installations, Ami-Williams creates juxtapositions of elements, principles, materials, and symbolism. As an autobiographical artist, vulnerability plays an integral role in her creative process. By sharing her own childhood traumas, life experiences, and cultural background, she invites audiences to transcend their mental barriers and discover their points of entry to engage deeply with her work in the hope of finding healing.
Ami-Williams subtly incorporates charcoal into her practice as It contributes to her narratives, serves as a metaphor for blackness, and is a rejoinder against the production of charcoal due to its contribution to climate change.
Her art is aimed at becoming an evocative vehicle for social transformation, triggering feelings and questions that allow for retrospect, potential healing and carefully initiating conversations that poke at dysfunctional structures across a wide demographic range that lead to the exposure of invisible frontiers.
