maximiliano
KATABASIS
KATABASIS is a ritual performance and a journey through hell. In a series of tableau vivants, VIM and VUM face trials, craft protection rituals, and receiving visions. They emerge, enlightened, to reveal their APOTHEOSIS, as the androgynous divine.
maximiliano (they/them) is a SOULVVN/CHIVNX (soulaan/chicanx) experimental visual and performance artist based in Portland, OR. They use semiotics and ritual to commune with liberation.
AshaAung Helmstetter (she/her) is an oil painter and mixed media artist, born and raised in Seattle’s Central District, where she is still based today. In 2017, AshaAung realized that she would dedicate very much of her life to art, and she has spent the following years actualizing that reality for herself. Having left school early to manage chronic health issues while focusing on her personal and artistic development, she has very little formal training. Through her work, teaching, and participation in community spaces, she amplifies community-connection and finding freedom from within. Her paintings reflect her imagination, and perseverance: two things that are difficult to miss when encountering her person, or any of her creations.
From the Artist: “No matter my limitations, my purpose is clear: create art, strengthen community, and be unapologetically myself. I create art with painting, crafting, burlesque, and go-go dancing. I strengthen my community with love, learning history, teaching, and listening. And when I'm unapologetically myself, I hope to make space for others to do the same. I’m not me without these pillars, and throughout my growth, this purpose has always remained.”
@artsyasha | artsyasha.com
