Avril Stormy Unger as Chutney Marie Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Since its inception in 2018, the Balance Club/Culture Festival in Leipzig has been a springboard for artists from around the world to showcase “marginalized, queer and feminist voices in club culture”. This year, two artists from India – Bengaluru’s Avril Ungar and Delhi’s Kinari – performed at the Balance Festival held between November 1 and 3.
At Balance, Avril performed as her drag persona Chutney Marie. “I accompany Avril when exhibiting at galleries and performing arts venues; Chutney Mary is my drag persona that came out when I realized I was gay,” says the artist, “As Chutney Mary, I drag, dance, sing, rap and… “I perform stand up as a completely separate entity. It includes all the other things I’m not able to do under the umbrella of serious art.”
Avril admits that although there is a great deal of humor in her work, as Chutney Mary she is outspoken about banging – almost in contradiction to herself.
“Chutney Mary is like that sexy Indian aunty who DJs, raps, dances and does everything in saree and jewellery; She’s not only a visual mix-and-match, but also a representation of what I wanted to see growing up. I didn’t get to see this, so it took me a long time to realize my strangeness.
“In queer spaces, there are drag queens and drag kings, but there are no cis women out there owning their sexuality and the platform. This is Chutney Mary.”
Avril Stormy Unger as Chutney Marie Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Over the three-day festival in Leipzig, which included sermons, panels, workshops and performances, Avril participated in three different areas. “I hosted a workshop on building community as an act of resistance; Using a game I invented a game called Chutney Mary’s Queer Charades.
The game, which consists of a customized deck of 72 cards, is used as a tool to talk about difficult things “in a playful, joyful way.” “I think sports is a huge part of building and maintaining community, but also working in places that are completely against you,” she says.
Avril says her drag persona developed over the past three years while she was creating community spaces in Goa. “I was running a queer bar in Goa for some time, and during that time, I started queer play nights. The game gradually evolved into Chutney Mary’s Queer Charades.”
Chutney Marie’s Queer Charades Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
At Balance, Avril was also part of a panel discussion with some other artists and organizers talking about club culture and its politics. “Third, I will play a DJ set at Balance Club Night. Although the festival is of three days. I will be in Berlin for a month because I have other shows and performances.
Talking about Kinari, Avril says, “She is a Delhi-based trans rapper and the only other artiste from India at the festival. I’m a big fan of his work and have been following him for quite some time, so I’m extremely excited to play at the same festival with him.”
Both Kinari and Avril were spotted by Abilashan Balamurali, curator of Balance, who toured India through the Goethe Institute Mumbai in 2023. “They came to India as part of a project to look at quirky places in India and organize performances with artists,” she says, adding that Kinari and the Goethe Institutes in Mumbai and Bengaluru were involved in being a part of their Balance Festival. Had played an important role. This year.
Avril Stormy Unger as Chutney Marie Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
published – November 14, 2024 12:50 PM IST