Back Room

BIRDIE BUSCH “Kazimi”

"I am a sonic and visual artist in Philadelphia that strives on distilling the complexities of our stories down to core truths via the paths of art and song. I come from a lineage of Polish immigrants that settled in Camden, NJ in the latter half of the 19th century. I am drawn to pajakis, a craft begun by women of the countryside of rural Poland as a creative connection to my ancestral past whilst also delighting in how futuristic, otherworldly, and modern the form feels. I am excited about the possibility of the reimagination and the personalization of them in the 21st century. A medium of bounty. Ephemeral. A symbol of fertility. Sometimes as centerpiece, sometimes as quiet shrine. A resistance to things lost. Bearers of luck and happiness. Made to help you get through the hard part of winter. Amulets of protection. Chandeliers of celebration. Amongst all these meanings, pajakis were also initially part of the celebration of the Spring Equinox, so it felt right for this show!"

Front Room

GINA GILES “33”

“Gina Giles is a painter and fiber artist with a background in photography and digital art. Since her graduation from Moore College of Art & Design where she studied Photography and Digital Arts, Gina has honed into a very personal approach to art making that blurs the lines between her more straightforward two-dimensional pictorial style and her trail-blazing interpretation of fiber art. Drawing inspiration from her wide-ranging inner states and her peaceful communion with nature, Gina manifests a vibrant representation of her reality as an African American woman, feeling her way through adulthood and the nuances involved in one's personal take on femininity, empowerment, independence and vulnerability. "33" puts on display the eclectic breath of her latest body of work in which Gina's masterful choice of color combinations and materials, often sourced during her daily errands, brings to expressive life faces and moods, nature and artifice.”

THe ReDRooM

JONATHAN DELGADO

“The Guardian of Eaten, Got Enough Feedin’”

As you can see, the title is a play on words on “the Garden of Eden”. It explores the many potential ideas and possibilities within the ancient stories of creation as well as the origins of human beings, through stories known and unknown, as well as giving attention to sacred geometry and power of numbers. The Biblical narrative of Adam and Eve with its older historical ancestor, The Assyrian Creation story, being the oldest evidence of human origins, are the base to the piece. The two creation stories of Genesis and the idea of alien life coming to this planet to create the human race are all ideas that will hopefully be used as catalysts for the imagination of the audience. The Garden of Eden can also be translated into “The Garden of Pleasure” or “Paradise”, a blissful utopia where many things may have occurred, but remain secret or just ideas.

GReaT GLaSS eLeVaToR

RUMI KITCHEN

“Rumi Kitchen’s Hoo Hah”

Rumi Kitchen(he/him) is a singer, composer, director, producer, visual artist, and galactic feeler based in Germantown, Philadelphia, PA, Earth. His “Hoo Hah” is an art collection of great consequence and you shouldn’t feel as though you’re being surveilled or that your energy is being gathered for a trailblazing metaphysical experiment which could change the nature of how the human race interacts with gravity. Please remove any metal from your person before crossing the middle of the room, thank you. Enjoy

Just like the RedRoom, many things happen in the Garden of Eden in  privacy that no one but the person(s) knows about.  It's also a place where we are the most comfortable, most private, most imaginative, and where most of our legendary and epic stories are created, unraveled, elaborated, etc. Lets take a journey using the sinful nature we were born with and lets create our own worlds, all while staying open to the opposing or different ideas you may confront. Some thoughts: 

 Was the serpent really the bad guy in the Adam and Eve narrative?

 If we never took a bite of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, wouldn’t we just be slaves to “Lord God”? Why was knowing that you were naked a bad thing? 

Who were the human kind in the first Biblical story of Genesis 1 and how were they different to the mankind of Genesis 2? Or are they the same? 

Are we the creation of ancient aliens?

 If the Sumerian story predates the Biblical story and has so many similarities, what conclusions can one make? 

You decide (or not decide). You can talk about it (or keep it your secret). 

Be Adam. Be Eve. Be Adam and Eve. Be the ones God created at first being  “male and female”. Be the Guardian of this Garden. Be the Lord God. Be the serpent. Be the fruit. Be what you may, just wash your hands with soap and water after you finish.