Cekwana and Larsen’s performances and installation transform the auditorium of HAU1. Through staged guided tours, game shows and a talk show, the performers attempt to answer the hypothesised questions of redressing the colonial heritage. OJ Simpson, Oscar Pistorius, the modern judiciary process-by-media… could a global sports icon be substituted by a global colonial power in this “trial-by-media” musical chairs game? Could a distant scream for justice be a worthy replacement for our penchant for instant public gratification? Could a colonial crimes tribunal garner enough TV ratings to warrant a prime (time) entertainment spot? What if the celebrities of the 21st centurywere no longer the talentless beauty queens of Smallville USA, Teutonic tit-willows or fallen sport heroes, but infallible European master nations? What if we were to reject the traditional Western courtroom and replace it with the crucible of reality TV and stage the case for reparations against colonialism and slavery there?

Performing artist and choreographer Boyzie Cekwana lives and works in South Africa. Along with some of his peers, he is part of an artistic noise for developing a voice for contemporary dance practice and scholarship in Africa. For two editions, he was Artistic Director of the Jomba! Contemporary Dance Festival in Durban, South Africa. He works across disciplines and his work has been shown across various platforms around the world. He is part of the on-going African guerrilla thought-factory, developing and shaping ideas for artistic self-expression in the Southern African region.

Nina Støttrup Larsen is a Danish design researcher / artist based in the Netherlands since 2003. She studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and did a research fellowship at the Jan van Eyck Academy. She has spoken at and programmed various events, such as “Design Practice Research” and “Systems Exposed”. Her work consists of printwork, moving images, events, games and installations. Collaborators and commissioners include: Urban Scenographies, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, Sonic Acts Festival, GRAPHIC Magazine, De Groene Amsterdammer, Volume Magazine etc. She teaches Design Research at Artez Academy of Visual Arts in Arnhem. She is also co-founder of research / artist collective Bitcaves.