Exhibition: The Life Cycle of Rainbows

The Life Cycle of Rainbows

Private view: September 18th. 7pm- 10pm.

The Life Cycle of Rainbows is a film and installation exhibition by India Sky inspired by the BaKongo Cosmogram’s influence and permutations within Afro-Diasporic music and dance traditions, particularly underground disco, house, and ballroom culture. Within BaKongo cosmology, the cosmogram provides a map of the principle shape of the Universe as well as the trajectory of the soul as it cycles through Birth, Maturity, Death and the Ancestral world.  Both the film and installation utilize the BaKongo Cosmogram as a structural device, weaving a universe of sound, nature, sculpture, elaborate costumery, dance and storytelling in which cycles of life, death, becoming and rebirth are expressed through a Black, femme and queer lense. 

The soundscape of the film, composed by India Sky, features several mixes by the legendary DJ Larry Levan of the Paradise Garage as well as India’s original music. Based on India Sky’s research that traces the influence of the BaKongo Cosmogram in disco and the work of Larry Levan, India positions the sonic, spatial, dance and aesthetic elements of disco as a cosmogram reborn. Additionally, the final song of the film, a house track which sets the score of the Ancestral World, is composed by LA based DJ and producer Kumi James (BAE BAE). 

The film was created over an intensive 7 week residency and shot throughout several locations across Scotland’s Western Lowlands. Featuring 13 performers including India Sky, it provides a vibrant prismatic view of Afro Diasporic dance legacies including house, whacking, locking, krump, congolese, vogue and improvisation. The archival footage present in the film and installation highlight key elements of the birth and evolution of the disco era including; David Mancuso’s infamous Loft parties, Larry Levan at Paradise Garage, Gwen Guthrie performing at the Garage’s last night, disco legends Sylvester and Donna Summer, Soul Train, voguers on the Christopher Street Pier in NYC,  and Pepper Labeija at the Kansai John Moschino ball. The coalescence of legacy, presence and place in The Life Cycle of Rainbows shines a polychromatic light on the living connection between the ancestral and physical worlds and the manifold cycles we move through in space and time. 

The Life Cycle of Rainbows

Created and Directed by India Sky

Featuring:

India Sky

Nola Freeman

Divine Tasinda

Afi Hussen 

Omar Jordan Phillips

Mele Broomes

Ashanti Harris

Alexis White

Kendra Chiagoro-Noel

Kemono L. Riot

Dorine Mugisha 

William Freeman 

Marios Ento-Engkolo

Director of Photography: 

David Chukwujekwu

Camera Tech:

Martí Salip

*Additional filming by India Sky and Jen Martin

Grading:

Jen Martin

India Sky 

Production Assistants:

MC Laffitte

Ju Scott 

Jen Martin 

Sculpture Fabrication:

Jen Kilgour 

Costume Design: 

Zephyr Liddell

India Sky 

Costume Assistants:  

Morag Seaton 

Saira Harvey 

Makeup Artists:

Madeleine Virginia Brown

Kala Williams

Music:

Heartbeat – Taana Gardner, Larry Levan mix

Begin – India Sky 

Seventh Heaven – Gwen Guthrie, Larry Levan mix 

Let’s go Dancin’- Sparque, Larry Levan mix

Palaces of Pleasure – India Sky 

Dark Symphony – India Sky 

Ancestral World – Kumi James (BAE BAE)

ACCESS

As part of this exhibition the gallery space is painted black and the space features low lighting. There are three large projection screens in which the film is played. The soundtrack to the film is played via speakers at a medium level volume, if visitors wish for the sound to be reduced we are more than happy to accommodate this and you can speak to the invigilator upon arrival or alternatively send an email to info@embassygallery.org beforehand. The exhibition also includes sculptures and a large text vinyl on the wall, these elements are lit with spotlights. The film is half an hour in duration and plays on loop. There is seating in the gallery in the form of square plinths. If you require seating with backs we have foldable chairs that can be set out to accommodate you further. Any additional questions please do not hesitate to be in touch.