“The act of masking transforms the wearer entirely”, the profound quotation on one of the introductory pieces reads as you enter a hall dedicated to performance in a city swamped with Fringe shows vying for attention. The masks in question, beautiful craftmanship echoing the cultures of their creators, sit in council, presiding over you upon entry as if deciding whether you are worthy to enter their space, the “power of the spirits they embody” seemingly captivating the entire exhibition and holding you in suspense as you look around and marvel at the character depictions before you.
The sacred sounds and instruments only build upon this further, with colossal pieces available for you to play, drowning the cacophony of the wider museum and instead invoking a sense of calm, purpose and ceremony as if you are awaiting one of the many costumes to jump to life and begin their Cham performance as shown on screen. The artefacts on display in Performance & Lives connect, celebrate and transcend cultures, with each person “adding their value to the mix” in a strange orchestra of the living and the costume adorning the walls.
Whilst three costumes and a case of instruments felt out of place, the swapping of which would create a perfect diagonal divide between the auditory and visual pieces of performance, the sections complement each other nicely and leave you wishing the central balcony to peer into the gallery below was replaced with a large space in which visitors or performers could let themselves move to the music and in tribute to the powerful costumes watching over them.
The Mask of Ravanna by Chandra Sutrahu, Devil Dance Mask, and Buddhist Cham Mask (Nawang Tsering) are exceptionally notable for catching and holding attention the second anyone approaches, drawing you in with their grandeur and craftsmanship and holding you with their stories. Each elegantly created, their striking yet pretty designs are sure to amaze and intrigue and leave many of the other exhibitions in the halls of Edinburgh powerless to overcome their magnificence, paling in comparison.
For any lover of striking artwork in practice and its collaboration with musical experience, Performance & Lives is an unmissable gateway into cultures aplenty and the integration of the human experience with the cultural physicality that differentiates so many individuals across the world into their own separate communities. Short of a live demonstration or dance in the space, the collection is an unparalleled window into performance, creativity and joy that unites so many within our cultures, and breaks down borders to unite the many groups that find home and purpose in performing for their peers.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Performance & Lives is a continuing display in Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland
