Dance | Henna | Artistic Research

My name is Anima Jhagroe-Ruissen and I am a social artivist. In my dance and henna-art I explore and challenge dominant narratives by unveiling underlying processes, mechanisms and interests. Examples are nuanced forms of exclusion of women of colour in the work place or the usage of the brown female body as a form of exotification. I unravel these dynamics to tell marginalized stories, through (interactive) exhibitions, productions and performances. Through these means I want to create spaces of resistance to pursue social change for women of colour. Important elements in my art are diaspora communities, intersectional and decolonial approaches, materiality and my life experiences as a hybrid of Indo-Carribean and Dutch descent.

In my artistic practices, I explore imaginaries of our bodies, material environments, and social realities beyond capitalism and colonialism. Illustrative questions are; Which specific dynamics occur when practicing decolonial feminist art in economic spaces? And how can we (re)imagine those dynamics? How can a dupatta (South-Asian scarf) teach us about fluidity of transnational identities?

If you want to know more about me or my art, you can always contact me and check my practices.