Interview: Cecilia Bengolea on her dancehall movie for VF: Reverb

The artist and choreographer discusses Shelly Stomach Inna Actual Life, shot in Jamaica between 2015 and 2019 and displaying till 2 March, 2025 at 180 Studios.

In a brand new interview, Argentinian artist, choreographer, and dancer Cecilia Bengolea particulars the expertise of constructing Shelly Stomach Inna Actual Life, her video set up for The Vinyl Manufacturing facility: Reverb exhibition.

Exploring the world of dancehall – a style and type of dance originating in Jamaica – Bengolea’s Shelly Stomach Inna Actual Life grants an intimate view of the communities and people that preserve the scene going. Accompanying dancehall icon Shelly Stomach, Bengolea explores the choreography and social context of dancehall’s individuals and the broader tradition round them.

On this interview, Bengolea discusses her reference to dancehall, the connection between the Jamaican police and dance and the broader world of road dance.

Shelly Stomach Inna Actual Life isn’t Bengolea’s first brush with Shelly Stomach or The Vinyl Manufacturing facility. In 2016, Bengolea and her collaborative companion Jeremy Deller teamed up with The Vinyl Manufacturing facility to create Bom Bom’s Dream for The Infinite Combine exhibition.

Following the adventures of a Japanese dancer often known as Bom Bom, Bom Bom’s Dream equally engaged the dancehall and featured Shelly Stomach in a starring function.