TRANSVERBERATION

OCTOBER 20-22, 2022
8PM

$20 in advance / $25 at-the-door

Please note: The show contains themes religious doctrine, sexual expression/ exploration, kink, and violence. 18+.

Transverberate: to beat (pierce) or strike through; often used in the context of Transverberation which is an account of “religious ecstasy”— an act of being pierced by God’s love. The project began as an observation of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th century work The Transverberation of St. Teresa; a sculptural group created to honor St. Teresa of Alvilon’s reception of God’s love. In Bernini’s interpretation of the event, she’s depicted in an orgiastic state at the peak of climax: eyes slant, head back, mouth agape while being impaled by an angel. There’s an overwhelming sense of violence, lust, and kink present— a common motif for Baroque artists of the time commissioned by prominent religious figures {i.e. Artemisia Gentileschi (d. 1652)/ Caravaggio (d. 1610)}. Within a canon of beliefs most associated with chastity, abstinence, and persecution of sexual engagement outside of procreative measures, the work of Bernini and contemporaries is a striking contrast to the virtues of their faith. TRANSVERBERATION presented by August & Company lives within the same space of repressed desire, subverted sexuality, restriction in contrast to the want for expansion, and perceived fallacy in Judeo-Christian idealism.

August is a voluntary settler on Lenape-Hoking Land. They advocate for Indigenous sovereignty yet actively contribute to the displacement of local communities as a non-native New Yorker; they often argue their own ancestral history of displacement to counter guilt. Not only in waking life but also in creative practice do they live amongst contrast and antagonism. With their Art being an extension of lived experience, the work is rooted in fundamental observation (of thought, sensation, physical expression and its relation to the subject) amidst oxymoronic circumstance. Their means— physicalizing information through movement, written/ spoken text (archival and impromptu), and a sonic integration of vibration, noise, and rhythm.Their goal— a mere addition to collective consciousness. They are forever thankful for their mentors, collaborators, and peers (ancestral, past, current, and future) as well as Triskelion Arts for the opportunity.

Instagram: @augusthenders
vimeo.com/augustandcompany