GALLERY HOURS

December 9, 10, 11 5 – 7PM

PERFORMANCE

December 9, 10, 11 at 9pm

Mabou Mines Studio
150 First Avenue, NYC 10009

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An act of defiance leaves the half-breed demon king of Lanka trapped under a mountain for a thousand years. In his isolation, he dismembers himself to fashion a stringed instrument that becomes the oldest ancestor of the violin, and composes a song of devotion to win the favor of the Great Destroyer and earn his liberation.

First Violin: darshan is the latest incarnation of Sean Devare’s ongoing artistic explorations of the epic poem The Ramayan. The gallery after hours becomes a prison, a temple, and a concert hall in a series of autobiographical and musical meditations on the re-creation and reclamation of this king of instruments and symbol of the model minority. Additional music and sound elements by Luke Santy.

Sean  Devare is a New York-based interdisciplinary performer, designer, musician, writer and  director. His solo show ‘First  Violin,’ premiered at HERE Arts Center and United Solo Festival, and was presented in an exclusive audio format for SUITE/Space Digital and Mixed Asian Media’s inaugural online festival as ’Anugraha EP.’ Sean’s work explores questions of cultural inheritance and  fluidity through reinterpreting folklore and Asian diasporic performance traditions, from mask-making and  shadow puppetry to Carnatic violin. He has worked on original collaborative performance pieces with artists in Singapore, Ecuador, and Sicily, and performed in NYC at BAM, Signature, Target  Margin,The Flea  and more. Founding member of Trinacria Theatre Company and The Transit Ensemble. MFA Theatre, Sarah Lawrence College; BFA Illustration, RISD. www.seandevare.com