The Act of Un-masking in Black Off (2016−) by Ntando Cele

Abstract

Summary: In her performance Black Off (2016‒), the South African performer Ntando Cele, masked as both “Bianca White” – a white-skinned woman with dyed platinum-blond hair, blue contact lenses and white gloves – and “Vera Black” – a black punk singer – addresses forms of racial discrimination and cultural identity based on her own experience as a South African in Europe. Two levels of un-masking are essential in Black Off. On the one hand it is metaphorical, because Cele deconstructs stereotypes and expectations and exposes the hidden racism in everyday life. On the other hand, it is literally about the un-masking of Bianca White and Vera Black as an aesthetic strategy, which involves an interplay between difference and appropriation. The act of un-masking offers performative potential to negotiate the issue of Black counter-representations.