Retelling of the Greek myth. Grada Kilomba's 'Narcissus and Echo' is a metaphor for a society which has yet to resolve its colonial past and is incapable of seeing beyond its own reflection. The rereading can be seen as an incisive analysis on the history of a system of distortion and exclusion.
With the written word as the only visual element, Grada Kilomba gives a voice to an individual who has been historically silenced by colonial narratives. "In this experimental video," the artist states, "I explore how thoughts can be associated not only with theory, but especially with sounds, movement and emotions."
An exploration of everyday racism reveals how much this places the black subject in a colonial setting where they once again are reduced to the subordinate, exotic 'Other'. Racism allows the past to suddenly line up with the present, and the present is experienced as if one were being catapulted back into that painful past.
