El FARO San Juan
Felisha Carenage and the Moko Jumbies Earl Ward Jr. and Tekel Sylvan

On this day, 9 years ago, the SS El Faro, a US-flagged cargo ship, was lost at sea after entering the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin on her way from Jacksonville, Florida to Puerto Rico. On the sea floor of the Bahamas, she joined dozens of known merchant vessels carrying cargoes that fuel the tyranny of empire even in the present day (molasses, sugar, lumber, military tings, cotton, whiskey, rum, madeira, Disney plush toys, Coca-Cola syrup, Nescafé instant coffee, etc.)

Another commodity that haunts the overheating Caribbean Sea is the Labour which is dependent on such cargo – in terms of production as well as consumption. The bodies of the El Faro‘s 33-person crew rest among centuries of irretrievable loved-ones, mostly disposable people whose complexity and humanity is a threat to our entitlement to peace, pleasure and leisure.

My port-city / violent-island-girl projects have been pressuring me closer towards the wreck of the SS El Faro. Within the frame of the Dekoloniale Festival & Akademie 2024, together with 3 incredibly talented collaborators, I’m using the naval architecture of this 40-year old ship to do some wrecking work in the effed-up architecture and infrastructure of Berlin Mitte and Wedding. Haunting back the Atlantic Ocean and the exploitative interests that continue to thrive along the same damn shipping routes.

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14.11.2024 17:30-21:00 Museum Nikolaikirche, Nikolaikirchplatz, 10178 Berlin

In this artwork, I used the story of labour relations aboard a sunken container ship, the SS El Faro, to develop a costumed choreography for two stiltwalkers, which we performed in Berlin Wedding and Mitte. They haunted streets, buildings, electrical boxes, pissoirs, monuments, people, along Dekoloniale’s memory culture walk in the so-called African Quarter and Asian Streets :/

The characters in El Faro are named Dreamer and Goner; they were played by two Moko Jumbies whose costumes were made in correspondence with my paintings and textile works, in which overalls, jumpsuits and other workwear are often featured.

The bodies in my work are seldom my own – desire and mourning are the same thing to me, and I’m grateful for the support and resonance around this work!

photo: Sonja Hohenbild

𝗠𝗼𝗸𝗼 𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀 Earl Ward Jr. and Tekel Sylvan @e.ward_jr @dmokoking

𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗴𝘆 Luiza Furtado @luizafurtado__

𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 Isma Gane @isma_gane

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 Kech @nkw_space

𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 Barazani Berlin @barazani.berlin

𝗠𝗼𝗸𝗼 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 Kriston Chen / Alice Yard / 1000Mokos @toofpress @1000mokos @aliceyardinsta

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 BPA// Berlin Program for Artists @berlinprogramforartists

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin for Dekoloniale Festival & Academy 2024 @staatlichemuseenzuberlin