Showcase Profile

DAMNED STATEMENT

Enter your DAMNED statement below. Please note that only text is allowed (no HTML). We prefer that your statement relates to your views of and/or experiences with being a part of DAMNED. Feel free to share any thoughts of attending the DAMNED events, the DAMNED friendships you may have created and and/or how DAMNED may have affected you as an artist.

Statement

DAMNED is always an amazing dark experience. The environment feels like a gothic ballroom with walls filled in dark surreal artworks, so it's basically a perfect place for an imagination like mine to run wild. My first DAMNED experience was in 2015 when my piece 'Evaporation' was accepted for display. I honestly had no idea what to expect, but the execution of this event set a standard for art shows that very few shows around Detroit have been able to meet. There was a fun, social, and diverse crowd. There were plenty of helpful staff members around and available. Art was selling left and right. And the performances were quite phenomenal! The stage was an alter-like glowing platform in the middle of the room. When a performance started, the room lights dimmed, the stage illuminated, Dixon's Violin starts playing an eerie song, and the performer emerges from the crowd. Performances ranged from interpretative dances and circus performances to ritualistic dances and everything in between. One of my favorite performers was Satori Circus. I remember he performed this eerie bit where there were cigarettes in between his fingers and he stat on a wooden stool. It's hard to explain in writing, but he moved very slowly as if he were dramatically puffing each cigarette while floating in the air. At times both of his legs would be in the air and you could easily forget there's a stool there. The music by Dixon's Violin was slow, eerie, and dream-like and after a while it took a twisted turn. As that happened, Satori Circus when for what was probably his 8th deep inhale, and exhaled a spray black ink from his lips. He continued to puff and spew this ink until he was on covered in splashes of darkness. I don't think I'll ever forget this performance!