Following the chaotic abrasiveness of The Blackening, this second stage embodied whitening and polishing—stripping down to what is minimal and reflective. In an all-white Marley studio, very slowly manipulated wall-to-wall projections and shifting light created an atmosphere of suspension. The space was activated through ritual movement and voice using a glass of water. Live processing of three cassette loops of voice and field recordings (recorded over the original shame stories tape) replicated dhikr (Muslim prayers of remembrance), transforming repetition into a sensory act of refinement that immersed those present in the lunar alchemy of whitening as a shared experience.

The altar featured the shredded and melted cassette from Stage I, grounding the work in what had been collectively processed. With just three cassette loops — each recorded over the original shame-story tape — BINT shaped a slowly shifting soundscape of drone and field recordings. Influenced by minimalist and drone pioneers Halim El-Dabh, Steve Reich, La Monte Young, and Marian Zazeela, this stage invited the audience into a quiet, durational space of collective cleansing within a waking dream state, before embarking on the next transformation.


Notes from BINT on Stage II: تبييض (The Whitening):

As the transmutation process continues to unfold, we have moved into the second stage known as ‘The Whitening’ (تبييض), an inversion and growing from the dissolution encountered in 'Stage I: تسويد (The Blackening).' Through this inverse we remain amidst a-void; the white in many cultures still signifying death and mourning as we often equate with black. Here we find the naked bone, only white remaining after processes of decay. Here we find the ash of a long forgotten flame.

Alchemically, it is in this stage where silver metal is produced. To form silver requires a stripping down, a focus–a refinement of the fertile chaos in the prior stage. Silver, in its association with the moon, is a unique metal in its ability to be polished, receive and reflect an image.

Fitting to this, themes of soul polishing and repetition of holy words of power known as dhikr (translates to remembrance) are central to sem’a practices. In this, BINT will use voice, field recordings and cassette tape loops to emulate these alchemical processes of polishing and repetition, using these analog methods of memory looping as a means of receiving and reflecting collective experiences for the gathering.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Throughout 2023, BINT has been collecting anonymous experiences of shame from the SWANA diaspora. These submissions form the raw material of her residency, عيب:Solve et Coagula, which unfolds over three performances corresponding to the Arabic alchemical stages of transmutation. Each program is an audiovisual, immersive sound ritual loosely structured after Sufi sem‘a gatherings — spaces historically created for collective listening, chanting, and rhythmic devotion, often hidden from orthodox authorities.