South London artist Abstract Benna places a local estate at the heart of his new audio film, which features in the line-up of the Shipbuilding performance festival in February. Created in response to the UK’s societal climate, Shipbuilding from Certain Blacks, is named after Elvis Costello’s symbolic anti-war song and reflects upon the climate of Covid 19, Brexit and Black Lives Matter, exploring what it is to be British and diverse in these challenging times.
Abstract Benna has been writing and performing since childhood. A social commentator and spoken word artist, Benna is also a storyteller and an instinctive musical collaborator. Intricate rhyme schemes and layered narratives meet sonic and visual landscapes while Hip-Hop beats and cinematic sounds form musical backdrops. This performance launches Benna’s EP Out Of Darkness. He says: “People call me a Poet, Spoken word artist or wordsmith but I just feel like a vessel for untold stories, a time capsule for life lessons that future generations can rediscover when the stage they’re at in life requires it. Born and raised in Lambeth, this event is important to me because it’s community focused and it’s the community of Lambeth that gave me the wisdom to survive in the ways I did whilst growing up, so this project is like a nod to the community.”
Set on a South London estate, Benna’s brutally honest audio film will accompany a live performance. A fly-on-the-wall inner city journey delving deeply into the mind of a young Londoner, Benna’s observational lyrics and sense of drama evoke this tense environment. The story unfolds as a set of choices that young Londoners have to make, and the life lessons learned as they transition to adulthood and figure out who they are and who they want to become.
Benna has worked extensively with young people facilitating educational workshops. His many commissions include projects for the Roundhouse and the NHS.
Abstract Benna’s Out Of Darkness is on
Friday 25 February at 8pm. Admission:
£10 (£6 concession)
Shipbuilding runs from February 18-27 at
Rich Mix, 35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road,
E1 6LA. https://richmix.org.uk
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