Mandhla.

Mandhla., who lives in Cologne and Berlin, mixes experimental R&B and soul with visuals, performance and dance in her art. Her commissioned work for Pop-Kultur takes the numerous facets of African spirituality, Afrofuturism and trans identity as a starting point to explore their transformations and complexity. Music, dance, visual media, costumes and spoken word are interwoven by the member of DEMASK along with noise musician Miriam Chebaibai-Koch and soul producer Jasmine Bell to create a multi-layered work, centred on Mandhla.’s equally multifaceted identity with all its experiences of love, desire, intensity, intimacy, hope, joy and death. This gets further differentiated by dance influences from Afro-dance and voguing as well as outfits that render Afrofuturistic concepts visible through clothing combinations inspired by Yoruba culture and Shweshwe fabrics as well as haute couture.

Credits: Mandhla. (concept & music), Ashley Baptiste (production & vocals), Shayne Stubbs (choreography & dance), Espoir Freitas (choreography assistance & dance), Karen Peprah-Gyamfi (costume), Anita ‘Turkana’ Kevin (sound design), Jasmine Bell (music production), Justin Rivera (costume), Kareem Baholzer (videography & photography /visuals), Katarina Singleton (videography & photography / visuals), Elia Fukene (videography & photography / visuals)