in the studio
saturday, november 9, 6pm

mere mortals too close too close falling back (sky so sky)

(after Anne Carson, Rachel Eisendrath, Byron Kim, Geoffrey Hendricks, Magritte, Kermit the Frog and so many others) 

Featuring Daonne Huff with Joshua Araujo, Arone Dyer, Kiowa Hammons and Aron Sanchez. 

A confession. I don’t know what the fuck to do with all that’s going on or honestly what I’m doing in this midlife moment. I’m exaggerating…a little. But I can say with 100% confidence I’m overwhelmed or underwhelmed but rarely whelmed. Overstimulated, hyperstimulated to a stunted state. No cause for serious alarm though–it’s all about perspective. I often forget to count–lost in the deluge of sights, sounds and smells that inundate daily. I often forget to breathe–so at times you may hear a forceful whoosh release from within. I faint at times from the spirits, from the stress, from the dehydration, from the invisible threats–survival mode. Fake death and resurrect, again and again to protect the self. Icarus was an idiot–too close my son, too close to the sun. Why fly so high when there’s so much to consume from the ground? Endorphins that rush as you look up up up and all around! 

And in holding that, I can say, I’m blessed. A reminder. Each of us, is blessed. We may just define it within different structures, terms, frameworks or timelines. 

The performance is inspired by, centered on and framed around skyscapes documented and recorded since the late 2010s. It will offer a multimedia, multisensory experience incorporating moving and still image, voice and live soundscapes in the hopes of offering a bit of a reprieve, retreat, reset as the world and the lives that inhabit it continue to spin, sit, spiral, sway, sing, slay, serve and support.
- Daonne Huff

Daonne Huff is a daughter of the state where the stars fell. She is an arts worker, performance centered artist, curator and poet. Her creative practice is rooted in observation, vulnerability, process, synchronicity, inviting the inside outside and rendering the invisible visible. 

Joshua Araujo is a sculptor, potter, musician, educator and horticulturist. Josh lives and works in New Jersey.

Arone Dyer produces sound as a vocalist, musician, composer & is a founding member of the uncategorizable duo Buke and Gase & hyper-pop duo Mistresses, as well as the producer of a roving, ever-evolving, non-static Dronechoir. She's also a voiceover artist, and runs a youth bike coop where she teaches kids how to fix bicycles. and has a landscaping side-hustle. and many other things that don't fit into a tidy box of what an artist does to survive and thrive.

Kiowa Hammons is a self-taught musician/artist focused on the tonal properties of the saxophone, percussion, and analog electronics; creating a style heavily influenced by improvisation, performance art, and minimalist aesthetics. Based in New York City, Kiowa performs in solo and group contexts; most recently at FiveMyles Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. He is also a member of the multimedia collective Hot Hands, the group Spit Temple; and previously curated the series Stimulus Progression hosted by Mirror in the Woods Teahouse.

Aron Sanchez is a multidisciplinary person, musician, composer, audio engineer, designer, fabricator of musical instruments, invented machines and other intriguing or useful objects. Aron is a member of the musical group Buke & Gase.

Photo credit: Aron Sanchez