Midnight in Abyssinia (2024)
Midnight in Abyssinia is developed within Experiments in Digital Storytelling at CultureHub in New York.
As the art director and spatial narrative designer for this unique project, I was given the opportunity to envision the physical manifestation of the beautiful ceremonial narrative written by Banna Desta. Set in the ancient kingdom of the Akusmite Empire, the essence of this spatial narrative was to provide space for the ancestor who visits us both in physical and digital spaces. Designing the spatial narrative to become a linear space for the actor allowed for a strong spine in the physical space, and by asking the viewers to sit on the ground, allowed for the feeling of stories from above become more tangible throughout the experience. Elements of projection, linear spatial design, lighting, and two projected surfaces allowed for creating a cohesive experience of past, present and future. As the ancestor enters the space, projected surfaces contribute to the narration being amplified throughout the space and acted in real-time.
**All photos are by Ji Hoon Kim courtesy of CultureHub.
Using hair floating from the ceiling to enhance the narrative on significance of hair in the story and experience, as the ancestor walks up to it and braids it in real-time
The path is in the past. Ceremonies and rituals can be diluted over centuries, but foundational traditions have been upheld from ancient kingdoms to modern day. This is most notable in Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea). We bring you the story of a member of the serving class in the Aksumite Empire, an ancient kingdom that existed from 100-700 AD, convening with their modern day descendant through a dream. Midnight in Abyssinia is an immersive story about a visitation from an ancestor that takes place in a dream in which the servant from the Aksumite Empire (the narrator) is the ancestor of the present-day loved one (the user). The ancestor has been urgently trying to convene with their loved one to pass down sacred traditions and fight against the threat of the culture being erased or lost.
This visitation is an ode to ancestral memory and the ways in which it’s connected to personal memory. The collaborative team of Banna Desta, Shariffa Ali, and Elyana Javaheri experiment with dialogue, video projections, and a variety of traditional skills like making coffee, braiding hair and drawing henna, washing, and more in an open rehearsal. Audience members are invited into an intimate space where one feels cocooned and inspired to tap into their ancestral/personal memory bank.
As an experimental digital storytelling piece, a digital henna was being drawn on the palm of the ancestor's hand using a projector
Projection of a starry night on surfaces as visitors walk in
Elements within the narrative were placed at the focal point of the linear space to enhance the time and experience of both the actor as well as the visitor
Projected surfaces to expand the visual narrative, while providing a digital aspect to a story floating between timelines, generations, and histories
Photographed - Elyana Javaheri on the left and Banna Desta on the Right
Team —
Banna Desta – Writer/Co-creator
Shariffa Ali – Director/Co-creator
Elyana Javaheri – Creative Director/Media Artist
Mahalet Tegenu – Actress (Ancestor)
Yohana Desta – Associate Director
dragonchild – Music
Azeib Girmai – Narration
With special thanks to Mattie Barber-Bockelman and DeAndra Anthony, and CultureHub New York for making this project possible