Lucky Lartey’s ‘Exoticism’

‘Exoticism’ is an exploration of exotification and contemporary masculinity which delves deeply into the collective lived experience of people with diverse backgrounds, performed by Lucky Lartey, who also choreographed the work, and Vishnu Arunasalam.

This resistance work is an exploration between two artists from different training and cultural backgrounds who share the common experience of living in Australia, with a movement vocabulary heavily themed on mirroring and embracing vulnerability. Putting their bodies on display in a raw, unfiltered way, Lucky and Vishnu reclaim their identity, deconstructing and reconstructing the notion of what diverse contemporary work is expected to look like. 

With dramaturgy by Martin del Amo and featuring video and animation design by Nathaniel Nelson, ‘Exoticism’ is a conscious act of autonomy to defy the prohibitive preconceptions and external constraints often placed on performers.

With an opening performance of excerpts from ‘The Ocean Between Us’ by Diya Naidu and Nadia Milford, a transcontinental and cross-cultural movement theatre work at the intersection of dancing and writing, the personal and the political, the forest and the city—recognising that these same divides can also become points of connection.

The Ocean Between Us is a cross-cultural movement theatre work between Indian artist Diya Naidu and Australian artist Nadia Milford. At its heart, the project asks: Who are we beyond the social categories we carry? How can we bridge the “ocean” of binaries that divide us—across race, gender, economics, and the many identities we inhabit? What might we learn if we asked the forest, or listened closely to the ocean, these forces that do not know separation as we do? How can we rest?  

Two women meet at the intersection of dancing and writing, the personal and the political, the forest and the city—recognising that these same divides can also become points of connection. The work invites audiences into a space where communication unfolds both spoken and unspoken, posing the quiet but urgent question: Can the body teach us how to listen again? Indeed, can the dancing body be of service?

Video: Thomas Oliver

7:30pm, Friday 20 June
Queensland Multicultural Centre
102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point
Tickets $35/$25 (book below)

There is limited parking at the QMC. We encourage all guests to use public transport. QMC is only a 2-minute walk from the Holman Street Ferry Terminal and bus route 234. You can find more info about how to get to QMC at http://qmc.org.au/visit