Performance
Edwards’ performance practice centers on endurance, emotional intensity, and intentional presence. Her performances often unfold over extended periods of time, asking both the artist and the audience to remain with discomfort, vulnerability, and reflection. Viewers are sometimes invited to participate without instruction, navigating extreme emotional circumstances through instinct rather than guidance. These works are choreographed from Edwards’ lived experiences in America and her ongoing self-reflection as a political being, acknowledging that existence itself is never neutral. Through endurance and embodied action, her performances examine identity, power, resilience, and the emotional weight of simply being present in a world shaped by history and systems beyond the individual.
HAIR DANCE
Endurance performance to a curated audio of Blues, Jazz, and horror audio. Anamarie dunks her head into a small tuberware filled with water. She holds her breath under water multiple times to the beat of the music. She gasps for air as her dirty hair gets cleansed by the water. This performance is on thoughts of being scared of water while washing hair as a young girl. Anamarie is also thinking about what it means to be clean and the invasion of self-intimate joy via hair trauma while engaging in self care.
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FT. n My Flag installation (Boston, MA): wood, plexiglass mirror, kanekalon hair, crotchet hair, rope, wood glue, track hair glue, acrylic paint
BLACK JOY HILL
Site Specific
Located at Kevin W. Fitzgerald park (Boston, MA) Anamarie lead a group up the hill to gospel music. She directed them to stand in a circle on the hill as she danced, sang, laughed, and ended with the cupid shuffle. Participants joined the dance in the end without instruction, when this happens Anamarie Exits the scene abruptly.
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Thoughts on culture appropriation and protection of black joy.
Photos taken by Yi Chen
BLUEPRINT
Working with her thoughts on the origins of America, slavery, and appreciating black history. Also thinking about the erasure of black education. This was a collaborative performance where Anamarie curated a list of names printed on blue paper. All names listed were of a black person that did something great, made history, broke a record, etc and so forth. Collaborators were instructed to paint the names on the wall exactly how they were typed for as long as possible.
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This version of the performance was done in the well space , in the installation of my solo show "From A Black Perspective" at SMFA in Boston, MA.
acrylic paint,