"Dam um abrasu means “give me a hug” in Capeverdian. Three layers of printed fabric represent
the person, the presence and the monster. Two parts reflect a feeling of togetherness and community that the artist experienced during the Monstrous Masquerade on Solstice eve.
The long dinner table, the introductions that had people share what they are afraid of
- the sense of warmth and vulnerability was necessary for what came after food.

The artist saw the workshops that followed as shadow work: a Jungian understanding of the darkness within ourselves that has been pushed to our subconscious.
To embody the monsters within ourselves and society means we are to bring our most hidden,
repressed and rejected feelings to the surface and confront them head on.

Where usually the monster within is hidden, in Dam um abrasu, it’s the layer one sees first.
It is a self portrait, from a time that the artist experienced being perceived as something possibly monstrous by strangers and feeling like they should hide. By engaging in shadow work, a transformation takes place where monster and person become one again.
It’s not an easy process, but the self is embraced within the installation and the work
becomes lighter within community."

- Wan Ing Que, curator Hamburger Community & Anarchief

Photography by: Chris Nelck, Silvia Arenas and Kimberly Dias