Opening the Mouth is a live performance inspired by the Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) opening the mouth ceremony, which was traditionally conducted to breathe life into the deceased, statues, and temples. This performance premiered on May 3, 2024, at the Pittsburgh Glass Center during the opening reception of Myth-Science of the Gatekeepers, an exhibition of 16 glass sculptures of Black queer Kemetic deities. Featuring a cast of 19 performers (including the 16 models who were the prototypes of the sculptures and three additional dancers), this site-specific piece vivified these deities and the Black queer spiritual system in which they are embedded.

Ursula Payne portrayed a blend of the Het-Heru—Kemetic goddess of art and the imagination—and Comfort—a woman enslaved by James O’Hara, the founder of Pittsburgh’s glass industry in 1795. Vigorously shaking a sistrum, she led a ceremonial procession into the gallery. Each model offered flowers and ribbons to their respective statue and performed specific poses and motions in front of it. With the entire space illuminated by projections, the dancers Chandler Bingham and Indira Cunningham traveled from statue to statue while enacting enlivening movements and subtly embodying the goddesses Auset and Nebt-het, whose epic quest to gather the dismembered parts of the god Ausar restored him to wholeness.

This evocative performance activated the spiritual essence of these Black queer deities and endowed them with a dynamic presence and voice.

Creative Director: Marques Redd

Art Director: Mikael Owunna

Movement Director: Ursula Payne

Dancers: Chandler Bingham, Indira Cunningham

Additional Performers: Weslee Glenn, Granville Carroll, Marsalis Gibson, Elon Dancy, Robert Smith, Derrick Wortes, Emerald Kane, Cordero Vigil, Emeka Ford, Jerry Ivery, Mikael Owunna, Shederick McClendon, Hasani Baharanyi, Marques Redd, Marcus Gilmore, Waverly Duck