NIEUW nieuw Nickerie | Lashaaawn

With NIEUW nieuw Nickerie, Lashaaawn takes the viewer on an Afrofuturistic space journey via digital drag performances. The audience boards a spaceship for an expedition led by Suriname in the year 2099. Through various performances, an epic, fantastical alternative timeline is explored. The project examines what future mainstream pop culture might look like when an Afro-Caribbean and queer perspective takes centre stage. This is done using video, augmented reality and a combination of disciplines and genres (science fiction, epic fantasy, comedy, lip sync, fashion and make-up). Personal experiences in Dutch society form the starting point for this exploratory making process. In this way, the link between colonialism and contemporary pop culture is explained, and a Surinamese parody of reality TV exposes geopolitical problems in the Caribbean. The project is a comical reflection on Dutch colonialism in 2025 and creates a safe haven within pop, gaming and internet culture.