Ruby Rumié “Divine Breath NYC”

La MaMa La Galleria

This event has ended.

In Divine Breath NYC, Ruby Rumié, with her 100 individual ceremonies, thrives toward helping abused women overcome their pain and get on with their lives.

This project explores the pain shared by women who have endured domestic violence, identifies the damage this violence does to them, and recognizes the need for them to fully mourn in order to revive their self-esteem.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Divine Breath committee and the support of the Safe Horizon Foundation, this exhibition recreates artist Ruby Rumie ́s project of one hundred survivors of domestic violence in Cartagena, Colombia with one hundred survivors in New York City.

The participants joined Ms. Rumié in intimate ceremonies of meditation and breathing exercises, after which, each woman exhaled her pain into a ceramic vessel as a symbol of recognizing, releasing, and transforming her silent pain into divine breath. The goal was to collectively create a positive and transformative experience for the women. To represent the diversity of New York City, the ceremonial vessels were created by seven local ceramic artists: Rana Amirtahmasebi, Will Coggin, Paula Greif, Eleni Kontos, Ben Peterson, Biata Roytburd and Mia Schachter.

Through this exhibition, Ruby Rumié joins the voices of the Colombian survivors with those of the New York survivors, showing us that domestic violence is a universal problem that transcends age, race, class, and culture. The Divine Breath project does not merely represent this hidden and escalating social issue, but instead, infuses it with hope and dignity for the survivors and those who experience the exhibition.

The exhibition will consist of the following phases:

1. The seven NYC prototype vessels
2. Photographs of the 100 New York women and their vessels, along with the 100 Cartagena women and their vessels
3. The 100 NYC vessels
4. Photographs of the 100 New York vessels along with the corresponding Cartagena vessels
5. Projected texts with the participant’s comments

Born in Cartagena de Indias, Ruby Rumié focuses her art on social problems using multiple disciplines to highlight situations such as gentrification, domestic violence and social barriers where art and its relations with the communities have been the leitmotif. She currently lives and works in Cartagena, Colombia.

Safe Horizon is the nation’s leading victim assistance organization. Their mission is to provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities.