Nanci Amaka

Nanci Amaka is an interdisciplinary artist exploring ideas surrounding trauma, ancestry, memory and West African Animism. Working from the theory that traumatic events challenge perceptions of power, autonomy, and identity; her work explores the liminal space between these experiences and language. Nanci received a BFA/BA in Visual Critical Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an MFA from California College of the Arts. Her work has exhibited at Root Division, San Francisco; International Center for Photography, New York, NY;  Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, CA;  Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, CA; Bermudez Projects NELA Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Hawai‘i State Art Museum x Mori, Honolulu, HI; Honolulu Museum of Art School; Aupuni, Honolulu, HI; and most recently, in 2020, gave a screening and artist talk on her work at the Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Museum of Art.

Amaka was born in Nigeria and spent her formative years in a rural rainforest village in south eastern Nigeria. She now lives and works in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

Cleanse Film Screening at Arts & Letters

Cleanse is my own personal journey to trauma resolution and internal psycho-social growth.

My mother was killed when I was a child and I grew up beside a gnawing ache for her and any information about her life. When I found her family decades later, her brother told me his only regret. He lamented that due to the circumstances surrounding my mother’s death, her family did not get a chance to wash and care for her body before she was buried. Of all the terrible things about that story, this one heartache simultaneously filled me with immense love and agony. It was a poignant moment of learning for me and profoundly inspiring. 

I have since been evolving it into a performance.
In many cultures, including my own – Igbo culture – when a person dies, it is customary for their family to wash and dress their body before they are buried. It’s a powerful last act of nurture and a way for the family to grieve their loved one.  Cleanse is part of a series of performances I am developing that center around the concept of ‘acts of nurture’. Simply, I will find a soon-to-be demolished space, and clean it. As a final act of gratitude and mourning before it ceases to exist and we no longer have a chance to care for it.

The Ward Warehouse has been a staple in Honolulu since 1975, outliving its original intended closing by 27 years and providing space for many local businesses in the community.  This August, it was shut down; the small businesses that have called it home have all had to relocate; and it will be torn down. It is an ideal place to do this performance as it is a space that houses the memories and experiences of many people in the community. Its impending demolition fills many in the community with anxiety for the unknown future, as well as sorrow for the loss of a place they’ve built memories in.

As I cleaned the space, I began to sweat profusely. It was immediate and more than I have ever sweat before. It began with my forehead and quickly moved down to my knees. Soon, even my feet were soaked so that I had to be quite deliberate in my motions so as not to slip and fall when I moved through the space. I found this all extremely interesting as I had done a lot of work to prepare for the performance and felt very ready for it. Furthermore, this was a private performance.  Aside from my two documenters, I was alone in the space. In essence, there was no reason to be anxious; no reason to be afraid. The work itself was relatively uncomplicated and something I have done countless times before – cleaning. Yet, my body wept. From head to toe. As I cleaned, it was as if my body was also cleaning itself from the inside out. 

I strongly believe that the most painful part of losing a loved one is the loss of chances to nurture and love them. Our loved ones and their agency are gone. However, we, the living, are left with wrestling our longing to nurture them with our powerlessness to do so. Cleanse is a silent moment of reflecting on all those that we have loved and lost.  Especially those whose passing took us by surprise and didn’t allow us a chance to say goodbye. It is an acknowledgment of the ability of loving actions to cleanse us of our burdens of pain and sorrow. It is also a moment of recognizing our power to act lovingly even in the face of despair.

Special thanks to Rob and Emily Lau of In Medias Rez for their help documenting this piece.

Very special thanks to Maile Meyer of Aupuni Place and Na Mea Hawaii for actively transforming Ward Warehouse in its final days and creating this pop-up exhibition space.

-Nanci Amaka