CORPORAL RENEWAL | SITES OF MEMORY | HISTORY IN THE MAKING
G.A.S.
Event: Body Memory
01 DECEMBER 2025
A Meditative Movement-Based Workshop led by Khaleb Brooks
On December 4, 2025, G.A.S. Lagos hosted Body Memory, a meditative, movement-based workshop exploring how the body carries personal and collective memory. Led by Khaleb Brooks, the session invited participants to reflect on how histories are embodied, asking questions such as: Who gets to memorialise, and who is excluded? What do we hide from ourselves, and what unprocessed memories rest quietly in our bodies?
The evening began with an introduction by Khaleb, who set the tone for the session and shared insights into their practice. Drawing on decolonial and archival methodologies, Khaleb investigates the intersections of collective memory, the body, and the afterlives of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Their work engages history as a living, embodied site, one that continues to shape identities, landscapes, and communities across the African diaspora. Participants introduced themselves afterwards, creating a sense of openness and collective engagement that framed the workshop.
The session unfolded in several steps, combining meditation, drawing, and movement. It began with a guided meditation to centre participants and focus attention on the body as a vessel of memory. Participants then drew body outlines on paper, associating each part with a word, before linking those words to images or objects that reflected their personal histories, emotions, or associations.
Drawing on Butoh, a Japanese dance-theatre form known for its slow, transformative movements, Khaleb encouraged participants to explore their bodies as sites of memory and transformation. Through guided movement, attendees embodied objects or images linked to each part of their body, exploring questions of scale, weight, and spatial presence. The exercises prompted a deep engagement with grief, joy, and historical consciousness, fostering a connection between personal experience and collective histories.
The workshop concluded with reflective journaling, allowing participants to process their experiences, consider their embodied responses, and share insights about movement, memory, and the objects or images that resonated most deeply. Through this holistic approach, combining meditation, drawing, movement, and reflection, Body Memory offered participants a grounding experience in which the body became both a site of remembrance and a tool for imagining future acts of memorialisation.
