I Want to Sing My Song
Summary
‘I
Want
to
Sing
My
Song’
was
the
title
of
a
solo
exhibition
held
at
Galleri
WendA
in
Halden
(NO),
from
18
September–17
October
2015.
Supported by
Nordic
Baltic
Mobility
Programme,
Arts
Council
Norway
and
Galleri
WendA.
Description of project
I
was
invited
by
artist
Nicolas
W.
Hughes
–
at
the
time
curator
in
residency
at
Galleri
WendA
–
to
create
an
artwork
with
context-‐
responsive
towards
the
city
of
Halden,
Østfold,
Norway
–
initiating
part
of
his
curatorial
programme
in
the
gallery.
Coming
from
a
patriotic
culture
like
Brazil
–
where
one
used
to
be
brought
up
singing
Brazil’s
national
anthem
at
school,
or
at
home
when
watching
Brazil’s
national
football
team
playing
on
the
television
–
I
am
specially
intrigued
by
what
singing
one’s
national
anthem
or
song,
might
constitute
in
the
formation
of
one’s
identity
and
(mis)conceptions
on
patriotism
and
nationalism.
Following
this
idea
–
in
one
of
the
project’s
initial
moment
–
I
was
looking
for
people
who
had
migrated
to
Halden
and
would
possibly
like
to
sing
their
national
anthem
or
song
during
Norway’s
national
day
(17
May)
while
they
would
have
their
portrait
taken.
Could
there
be
room
for
the
singing
of
another
song
or
anthem
during
such
patriotic
day?
Could
practices
of
assimilation
be
paused
while
one
is
encouraged
to
dwell
on
his/her
pluriversality?
Could
difference
be
accepted?
And
documented?
These
were
some
of
the
questions
adjoining
and
informing
the
concept.
Unfortunately
this
situation
was
not
fulfilled
since
there
were
no
participants
on
Sunday
17
May
2015,
at
gallery
and
no
booked
spots
either
through
my
website
and
other
proposed
channels.
The
small
center
of
Halden
was
crowded
with
Norwegians
and
new-‐Norwegians
singing
and
dancing
to
Nordic
songs
while
proudly
wearing
traditional
costumes.
Meanwhile,
as
a
conceptual
gesture
I
decided
to
step
in
front
of
the
camera
and
document
myself
singing
the
Brazilian
national
anthem.
Only
then
to
realise
a
great
part
of
it
had
already
gone
from
memory,
exposing
through
practice
truer
notions
on
transformation
on
one’s
own
identity
through
assimilation.
The
video
documentation
was
later
followed
by
the
production
of
other
artworks:
a
wallpaper
based
on
image-‐googled
research
material
with
keywords
such
as
chameleonism,
anthropophagy,
Sápmi,
Saminess,
Norwegian
nationalism
and
anthem;
a
A3-‐sized
laser
print
depicting
the
local
newspaper
interview
with
me
entitled
‘Brasilianske
Kjell
søker
deg’
(The
Brazilian
Kjell
is
looking
for
you),
made
to
promote
the
situation
on
17
May;
and
six
32
x
45cm
laser
prints
made
from
a
found
and
appropriated
experimental
social
psychology
journal
article
on
‘cultural
chameleons
and
iconoclasts’
by
Aurelia
Mok
and
Michael
W.
Morris.
They
were
shown
in
an
exhibition
in
Gallery
WendA
that
opened
during
the
local
Kulturnatt
(Culture
night)
on
18
September
and
ran
until
17
October.
The
project
was
supported
by
Galleri
Wenda,
Nordic
Baltic
Mobility
Programme
and
Arts
Council
Norway.
Type of work
Solo Exhibition
Published in
GalleryWendA, Halden (NO).
Link to web site
http://www.kjellcaminha.com/singmysong.html
http://www.ha-‐halden.no/kjell-‐caminha/galleri-‐
wenda/kultur/brasilianske-‐kjell-‐soker-‐deg/s/5-‐20-‐55653
Other description
I
was
invited
by
artist
Nicolas
W.
Hughes
–
at
the
time
curator
in
residency
at
Galleri
WendA
–
to
create
an
artwork
with
context-‐
responsive
towards
the
city
of
Halden,
Østfold,
Norway
–
initiating
part
of
his
curatorial
programme
in
the
gallery.
Coming
from
a
patriotic
culture
like
Brazil
–
where
one
used
to
be
brought
up
singing
Brazil’s
national
anthem
at
school,
or
at
home
when
watching
Brazil’s
national
football
team
playing
on
the
television
–
I
am
specially
intrigued
by
what
singing
one’s
national
anthem
or
song,
might
constitute
in
the
formation
of
one’s
identity
and
(mis)conceptions
on
patriotism
and
nationalism.
Following
this
idea
–
in
one
of
the
project’s
initial
moment
–
I
was
looking
for
people
who
had
migrated
to
Halden
and
would
possibly
like
to
sing
their
national
anthem
or
song
during
Norway’s
national
day
(17
May)
while
they
would
have
their
portrait
taken.
Could
there
be
room
for
the
singing
of
another
song
or
anthem
during
such
patriotic
day?
Could
practices
of
assimilation
be
paused
while
one
is
encouraged
to
dwell
on
his/her
pluriversality?
Could
difference
be
accepted?
And
documented?
These
were
some
of
the
questions
adjoining
and
informing
the
concept.
Unfortunately
this
situation
was
not
fulfilled
since
there
were
no
participants
on
Sunday
17
May
2015,
at
gallery
and
no
booked
spots
either
through
my
website
and
other
proposed
channels.
The
small
center
of
Halden
was
crowded
with
Norwegians
and
new-‐Norwegians
singing
and
dancing
to
Nordic
songs
while
proudly
wearing
traditional
costumes.
Meanwhile,
as
a
conceptual
gesture
I
decided
to
step
in
front
of
the
camera
and
document
myself
singing
the
Brazilian
national
anthem.
Only
then
to
realise
a
great
part
of
it
had
already
gone
from
memory,
exposing
through
practice
truer
notions
on
transformation
on
one’s
own
identity
through
assimilation.
View/ Open
Date
2015-05-17Creator
Caminha, Kjell
Keywords
Identity
Nationalism
Pluriversality
Assimilation
Migrant knowledge
Decoloniality
Occupancy
Publication type
artistic work
Language
eng