Humankind’s perception of nature has run the gamut between harmony and conflict. From our earliest depictions of the world in the caves of Lascaux, the writings of first nations and religious zealots, and the awe inspired poetry of the Transcendentalists; to the development of cities and industry, pollution, and the impending self-fulfilled prophecy of climate change: we have both praised and denied our intrinsic relationship with Earth as the bearer of sustenance and ambivalent destroyer. This skewed balance has become even more prevalent as we learn more and more of the effects of our presence here--facing the tangible dilemma of maintaining societal infrastructure in light of a world that may break...or just break us.
Next, Nature is a new work by the multi-media performance art group Hot Hands: focusing on human perceptions of the natural world and how they stand in direct conflict with our footprint upon it. The piece will be in two parts--each a reflection of one another, and will commence on September 8th and 9th, 2018. September 8th, Next, Nature (Evening Invocation), will consist of an evening of live performance of music, words, and movement; in collaboration with an amazing roster of musicians and visual artists. September 9th, Next, Nature (Midday Devotional), will be a live day-long durational piece in which elements of the previous evening’s performance will be refracted, reflected, and transformed through visuals and performative actions.
Featuring musicians: Joshua Araujo, Steven Bartashev, Aaron Campbell, Spencer Friedman, Keith Rowland and Ryan Shreves
Costumes and sets by Jamie Gray Williams
Hot Hands is the performance art moniker of Kiowa Hammons and Daonne Huff. Their multi-disciplinary pieces infuse electro-acoustic music, personal narratives, re-appropriated lyrics, object theater, dance, and film to address leitmotifs of social critique and identity politics. Their works have included interpretations of the oral histories of African American Navy Yard workers during World War II, the ramifications of the camera eye in cases of police brutality toward minority groups, and the effects of gentrification upon communities.
Their works have been performed at the 2017 Association of Literature and Environment Conference (Wayne State, Detroit, Michigan), Black Artstory Month (BLDG 92 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard/ Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership), Bushwick Open Studios, JACK, Mason Gross Galleries (Rutgers University), the 2016 BRIC Biennial (FiveMyles Gallery) and the 2017 Whitney Biennial (Whitney Museum of American Art). https://hothandscollective.tumblr.com/