Shadows of The Raven

Synopsis:

Shadows of the Raven is a multidisciplinary solo performance by The Kaizen M.D. (Multidisciplinary) Collective, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's iconic poem, The Raven. The work is directed by Adib Kosnan and shaped through movement dramaturgy by Norisham Osman, combining text, movement, and embodied storytelling in an exploration of grief, identity, and self-erasure.

At the heart of the performance is the artist, a figure navigating the wreckage of his own interior world. Drawing on the metaphor of the darkroom, the work examines how we process memory: developing, distorting, and re-exposing what we wish we could forget. Polaroids appear throughout the performance as physical fragments of recollection. Some are double-exposed, capturing the tension between what was and what we wish had been. Others are deliberately cut away, representing the choices and parts of ourselves we erase to move forward.

Performed by emerging artist James Carino, the work poses the question at the centre of the artist's struggle: Will I still be who I am if I let go of what made me? The Raven, never depicted literally, exists as a presence at the edge of the frame, embodying the relentless pull of loneliness, grief, and the fight to remain grounded in the face of psychological unravelling.

Shadows of the Raven is the second production in The Kaizen M.D. Collective's growing artistic universe, following the success of Shadows of the Black Cat in 2023. It continues the collective's exploration of personal mythology, introspection, and psychological tension within the artist's inner world.