Feranda - “To the Country and for Me"

@ferantobi

Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" -Cesar A. Cruz. I wanted to talk about what the people of this country do that discomforts me, I wanted to talk about the lost comfort that everyone owes me, I wanted to talk about why I want to discomfort them back. This piece is about my feelings and many other people's feelings regarding the people of this country who don't feel as though they belong here, just because they have different values. People who are, say "woke" or "westernized", would get marginalized for having different opinions and values. Even if those said opinions are completely rational, if it didn't abide to the country's religious values then it would be invalid to them. It's a sense of discomfort and isolation that we feel, an anger that no one else would understand because of the country's irrationality. symbolism plays a crucial role in this piece, the centre dancer being the only character with visible eyes and different costume represents the isolation of being the only different one, the only one with non-conforming values. Despite dancing being a form of self expression, it still can be judged and oppressed by the public eye as long as it is seen by them. The owl on top of the main dancer's head represents the wisdom everyone refuses to accept, and the donkey hidden in the background represents the stupidity of the people. Those who enforce their values to others should not be listened, those who harm one another with different opinions should not be listened, and a country who doesn't accept different people is a hypocrite.