A Sonic Architecture of Experimental Performance and Sound
#Fifty Questions: kelechi agwuncha
As an Igbo-American sound and video artist, kelechi’s work recalibrates, dismantles, and animates the conventions of performance spaces, culminating in amplifies it, doubles, trebles it—part of a live performance series at SITE Santa on Saturday, January 11, 2025 / 6-9 PM. This series embraces the expansiveness and permeability of outdoor & indoor open-air spaces and includes performances by Bo Hwang, an artist and writer working with poetry, movement, and narrative; Ryan Dennison, a Diné multidisciplinary artist from Tohatchi, NM; Soriba Fofana, born and raised in Guinea, West Africa, where he was immersed in a rich cultural tapestry of drummers, dancers, and musicians; and Chuquimamani-Condori, who combines the traditional drum and ceremonial music from their Pakajaqueño family, with caporales, kullawada, and huayno.
SSB is delighted to collaborate with SITE Santa Fe and to present a deeper look at kelechi’s process and personality in our #FiftyQuestions series.
What event or factor in your life has been the most pivotal in your decision to become an artist?
I had planned to study anthropology or forensic science in undergrad, until my mother asked if that was what I truly wanted. At the time, it felt right because I was fascinated with embodiment, and it seemed like the most logical, job-secure path forward. But her questioning gave me a kind of permission to pursue the arts and make video art. Funnily enough, my moving image work mainly explores embodiment + movement & blood ritual.
What artist do you consider most influential to your ongoing development as an artist?
Sheryl Sutton, Shirley Clarke, Trinh Minh Ha, David Mancuso, Rosa Barba
What are habitual internal fears and bogeymen that come up for you around making art – excluding universal concerns of time, space, money, in/adequacy, and recognition?
Often, I find myself trying to create logic and reason around everything. I have to remind myself that some things aren’t meant to be interpreted. Lately, I’ve been returning to the idea that radical Black traditions don’t exist within Western frameworks. Artist manuel arturo abreu critiques the Western supremacy of thought, pointing out how reason — expressed through religion, language, and appearance — has historically been used as a tool of domination. I hope to eventually see myself and what I create from the periphery of those frameworks, outside imposed logic.
Describe your ideal workspace.
The outdoors, of course — a stretch of grass, with a gazebo casting some shade and walls for projections
Who of all the artists who have ever lived would you most love to share your work with? And why?
Sheryl Sutton! Watching how she choreographed herself as a person experiencing a breakdown in Deafman Glance (Robert Wilson, 1981) is such a haunting meditation on slowness that I often return to. I also love how she thinks about slow gestures as a way to divide time, and how she feels dancing can resemble thinking or the renewal of mental energy.
Is there a seasonal rhythm to your practice? How so and why?
Growing up in Chicago, I fell into the rhythm of reading and conceiving work during the winter months, staying indoors as the cold settled in. Spring and summer felt like an exclamation of my aliveness — a time to activate ideas, bridge my thinking, and dance in the sun with friends. I love summer for that sense of release, where everything I’ve been brewing through the colder months can finally be let go, transmuting in whatever way it’s meant to.
If you could be anything besides an artist in human form, what would you like to be?
Archivist, librarian, or ethnographer.
What would be the most thrilling moment or situation in timespace to find your art being enjoyed?
An outdoor amphitheater, situated near a grassy park or a mountain where, most every weekend in the summer, people gather to play music, outdoor dance classes are happening, food is being grilled, and folks walking by join in.
About kelechi agwuncha
kelechi agwuncha is a multimedia artist who reanimates archival material, documentary, and video art by using percussive force as connective tissue. As a former athlete, their work also explores athletic gestures & spatiality as a rehearsal of play. Their approach to visual media & sound making often prioritizes live manipulations of the image and incorporates outdoor, public sites and the people occupying that site directly into the work in real-time. kelechi has done live audio-visual performances through spaces including the Chicago Architectural Biennial, Currents New Media Festival, Santa Fe Noise Ordinance, and Black Harvest Film Festival.