
Trickster Parade
Parade of the Trickster
What transformations do we need to go through to face an uncertain future? What tactics can we use to take ownership of our collective narratives?
The Raven of Pacific Northwestern Native American lore steals the sun, moon and stars from the Sky Chief to bring light to humanity. The Tanuki (raccoon dogs) of Studio Ghibli stage a ghost parade to fight deforestation. Trickster figures from stories all over the world use mischief, cunning and magic to influence the course of the human and the divine. In doing so, they often shift between different creatures and roles to adapt to whatever the situation calls for.
Using the forms of carnivals, parades and storytelling, Denise Lee's project considers what strengths we can borrow from gods and monsters to fight the new ones looming ahead. Three open mask-making workshops lead up to the Trickster Parade, which invites us to channel the more-than-human together on a walk through Chemnitz - a city fighting for its own transformation.