Niya B.
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Niya B. | 912 | Friday 01 April 2022 6-8pm | Free, no booking required
912 is dealing with the opposing forces of waiting and at the same time finding the strength to carry on, within a repeated life cycle of a day.
Through the use of VR technology, the project aims to build bridges and create empathy and understanding with the wider public.
This drop-in event will include an exhibition of work-in-progress material and a performative presentation by the artist.
Background To The Project
912 is a Virtual Reality (VR) video experience based on participatory performance of trans and non-binary people dealing with the opposing life forces of waiting and carrying on, within a repeated life cycle of a day.
The starting point is the waiting time required for an appointment at the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC). 912 refers to the number of days Niya had to wait for her first appointment. The waiting lists at GICs across the UK are getting longer with estimated times for a first appointment ranging between 3 – 4+ years.
912 is a project that departs from a specific trans lived experience of waiting and at the same time finding the strength to carry on. Through the use of VR technology, the project aims to build bridges and create empathy and understanding with the wider public.
The project consists of 3 parts, each corresponding to 1/3 of 912 cycles, documented with 360 degree cameras in collaboration with artist and performance photographer Manuel Vason. Part one is completed by Niya in her locality in London. For Part 2, Niya engaged with the community of trans and non binary people in Birmingham through a workshop and a participatory performance act. Part 3 will follow the same engagement in Sheffield.
The material of the above performances and workshops will be edited in the format of a VR video and experienced through a VR headset.
The project is supported through a National Lottery Project Grant by the Arts Council England, a Vivid Projects commission and public engagement partners BOM, Site Gallery, SOL LGBTQ+ community café and Queer Circle.
912 was conceived during research on 360 filming and performance, supported by a Jerwood Bursary.
About The Artist
Niya B is a transfeminist artist, working at the intersections of visual art and performance. She uses video, soundscapes, text, live acts and immersive installations to explore themes related to ecology, posthumanism, (trans)gender politics, class and equity in health and wellbeing. As a counteraction to political polarisation, Niya seeks to establish intimacy with her audience, creating a meditative space of vulnerability, affect and interdependence.
Her work departs from the personal to expand beyond representation and identity politics.
Niya has shown work in exhibitions, festivals, live art events and academic conferences including Tate Britain and The Yard Theatre (London), CCA (Glasgow), Performance Space (Folkestone), NEoN festival (Dundee); 5th Thessaloniki Biennale; 5th Moscow Biennale; International Print Biennale (Newcastle); Goldsmiths University of London; University of Leeds. Niya is the recipient of a Jerwood bursary and her projects have been supported by Arts Council England and the British Council.
Niya B has shown work in academic conferences at Goldsmiths University of London and University of Leeds. Her work has been featured in Elephant magazine, Dazed and Future Now / Aesthetica Art Prize.
Niya holds an MA in Landscape Architecture (University of Sheffield) and has worked for over a decade in the field of landscape architecture and the public realm.
Niya is part of the performance duo InXestuous Sisters together with collaborator Giulia C. Their latest work was exhibited at the 2021 Every Woman Biennial in London.
