+ THE DAMNED DEFINED +
damned -adj. 1. condemned to eternal punishment. 2. detestable; loathsome. 3. complete; absolute
Within the word “damned”, it is quick to fall towards visions of devils, Hades and hellfire. However, damnation also may reflect the eternal condemnation of self and the subtle abuse of one’s mind against itself. It may reflect the emotional trappings within the haunting ghosts of the past. Or perhaps the immeasurable tendrils that bind us to our deepest longings or deprivations.
DAMNED is an exhibition of those extraordinary creations that often emanate from within these prodigious moments to many times reveal enlightenment within our darkest of hours. This is a minute glimpse within the vast shadows of id and ego…of overall mind and encompassing soul that may intrigue, disturb, inspire and/or repulse. A one true reflection of self to express that beauty does lie within the repulsive, balance within imbalance or salvation within personal damnations.
The DAMNED Exhibition first appeared on a single night in Detroit, October 30th 2008…a single night locally known, and typically feared, as Devil’s Night. This night held a dark history of self-destruction for the city as it burned with fires numbering between 500 to 800 annually since the 1970s. However in 1994, over 30 thousand volunteers took to the city streets to squelch the numbers to roughly 100, thus eradicating the tradition to only a legend. With this exhibition, we felt it was due time to bring Devil’s Night back to Detroit. Not as glorification of its fiery past but as tribute to Detroit’s renewal as a phoenix rising from its ashes through an artistic celebration of the diverse human spirit.
And now each year, an extraordinary assemblage of artists and performers, from the infamous to the freshest of local and international talent, present their most introspective creations at DAMNED – An Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness.
