Catharsis: SheMoon

“She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. 'Time' for her isn’t something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.” — Roman Payne Featuring 33 select photographs, with the actual portfolio of 175 photographs cataloging the entire performance, Catharsis is a photojournalistic journey of SHE MOON – a fable of agony, purgation, and finally liberation as told through the functions of the all-inclusive feminine posterior. Surrealistic and dreamlike, SHE MOON is a collection of stories told through vignette, burlesque (“Butt-lesque”), clowning, aerial, butt puppetry, dance and magic. SHE MOON was a one night only presentation held at Brooklyn performance studio The Muse in September 2017, just prior to the breakout of the #MeToo movement. As per SHE MOON’S manifesto: "Using the symbolic parable of the female posterior, SHE MOON aimed to celebrate women's bodies through stories of oppression, repression, joy and sorrow. SHE MOON talks about big butts, small butts, putting foreign objects in our butts, how we move our butts, how we cover our asses and how we own our shit [literally and figuratively]. Using a combination of mythology and paganism, SHE MOON is people telling their Butt Stories to the Moon, because she’s always there to listen.” With this work I wanted to go beyond the practices of a dress rehearsal and capture the essence of a pagan moon ritual – a kinetic enactment, rather than a documented presentation. Clowns, aerialists, dancers and burlesque are elements, when combined, that convey the mysterious, multi-faceted sensuality of the Moon Goddess. A longer exposure dramatizes the movement and illustrates the emotional catharsis experienced throughout the performance. As author Betsy Cornwell states, 'Those of us who embrace the feminine know its strength.”