ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jasmine Orpilla is a transdisciplinary Ilokana/x-American multi-voiced, multi-lingual performance artist and operatic composer of experiential installations carved by her lifelong study and ongoing practices of Filipino combat systems, folk dance, mythology, indigenous and ancient music of the Philippines. To work, Orpilla simultaneosly wields each role of: vocalist, composer, dancer, musician, installation artist, sound producer and writer in order to embody an independent economy of care that prioritizes compassionately sourcing from/for the support of Indigenous Pilipino artisans' living practices throughout the diaspora. Based on in-depth ethical research centering the inherited and lived experience of the systemically silenced, Orpilla’s art is committed to further honoring the complex intersectionality of the Fil-Am body in full agency.

Jasmine Orpilla is the recent recipient of the 2022/2023 City of Los Angeles IMAP COLA Individual Master Artist Project grant, is the California Art Council's 2023-2024 Creative Fellow through Community Partners, and continues to perform/show at major art institutions in Los Angeles (MOCA, REDCAT, Hammer Museum, Hauser & Wirth, MAK Center, Wende Museum, Broad Museum, LACMA, etc.) with extensive tours abroad.

Asher Hartman is a transgender/transsexual visual artist, writer, director, and maker of live performances. His works, which blend theater and performance art, address social and political issues in times of chronic crisis. Known for dense, visual, and poetic texts, his pieces often feature clown and cringe humor, trance evidence, and psychic journeys, set in installations designed to disorient and elicit strong emotions. From 2010-2017, much of his work was supported by Machine Project in Los Angeles. Hartman is the director and founder of Gawdafful National Theater, collaborating with visual artists, actors, and performance artists since 2010. Recent projects include "It's Better to Start Out Ugly" at JOAN (2023), The Lab, San Francisco (2023), and a novel excerpt in TDR (2022). Upcoming projects include directing Naima Lowe in Late Bloomer at Mabou Mines, New York.

Other recent projects include "The Dope Elf," a series of traveling plays premiering as a live-in installation at Yale Union, Portland (2019), six short films at The Lab, San Francisco (2021), and the live performance "Organized Around the Erotics of Doing You In" at The Lab (2021). His works have also been featured in the catalog for "Lifes" at the Hammer Museum (2022). Past performances include "The Lost Privilege Company" at USC (2018), "Sorry, Atlantis, Or Eden’s Achin’ Organ Seeks Revenge" at Machine Project (2017), "Mr. Akita" at Hauser & Wirth (2017), Berkeley Art Museum (2017), and LACMA (2016). His book of plays, "Mad Clot on a Holy Bone," was published by X Artists’ Books in 2020. Hartman has also led numerous workshops and taught at various institutions, including Otis College of Art and Design, CalArts, and the Ox-Bow School of Arts.

Photo of Jasmine Orpilla by Ian Byers-Gamber

Photos of knives courtesy Jasmine Orpilla.