Performance art duo Darkmatter showcases their particular blend of poetry, performance art, comedy, and politics.. Photo courtesy of The Daily Northwestern.
It’s not often that Vollum lecture hall is filled with raucous laughter and standing ovations—but then again, it’s not often that Alok Vaid-Menon and Janani Balasubramanian, who together comprise the trans South Asian performance art duo Darkmatter, come to town.
But before Vaid-Menon and Balasubramanian even took center stage, Ah Mer Ah Su, an Oakland-based trans black singer, composer, and performer, opened with her catchy electro-pop. In between songs, she discussed her experiences being both trans and black, and finished off her set with an exquisite round of voguing and then, a standing ovation.
To a full house, Darkmatter brought their own mix of poetry, performance art, and comedy. There are very few duos that manage to combine biting humour with incisive political commentary like Vaid-Menon and Balasubramanian do, offering up comments such as Vaid-Menon’s insight on the whitewashing of Hollywood: “I’m nervous about dying because they’re gonna cast a white woman to play me.”
In the ninety-minute show, the duo covered themes from the prison-industrial complex of America to the loneliness of modern cities, and performed routines such as their poem “White Fetish.”
In it, Vaid-Menon and Balasubramanian finished each other’s sentences, to hilarious (and unexpected) effect. “I’ve heard that white men have huge…,” began Vaid-Menon. “Empires,” Balasubramanian finished. “I’ve heard that white men are really good at,” continued Vaid-Menon. “Gentrification,” Balasubramanian continued, to thundering laughter and applause from the audience.
After the show, the duo gave the mic to Reed students and Portland community members of color, offering a space to share their dialogue before an audience of their peers.
“We’re gonna hand over the mic to some of the people here at Reed College to let you know what their situation is here, because it’s really important for us to understand that the work only begins now, and we have to support especially the queer and trans students of color here at Reed,” Vaid-Menon announced. “So listen up!” Balasubramanian added.
Over two dozen queer and trans students of color and members of the Portland community then took to the stage at the front of the lecture hall.
“I just wanna say Darkmatter, thank you for coming here, but do you know that here [in Vollum] every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9 a.m. the Hum lecture happens? So this is the center for colonization at Reed College. And this is the most decolonized it’s felt in a while.”
“I’m gonna be really honest: I really fucking hate white people. Like, I see you guys. You guys are so disgusting!” another student expressed.
“Fuck the fact that this is the first time that anyone’s asked any of us about any of this,” said a third, to loud snaps and applause from the audience. “Thank you for the platform.”