Maidens of the Cosmic Body Running

Maidens of the Cosmic Body Running is a collaboration between Denise Burge and Lisa Siders that explores states of melancholy and ecstasy, referencing archaic and contemporary forms of ritual trance. Although begun by the two artists, Maidens has evolved as a project to include other collaborators for specific artworks, making its identity fluid, capable of expanding and contracting to respond to their undertakings. The work seeks to reflect and personify the constant state of ecstasy (metamorphosis, decay, birth) that is the natural world.

In December 2009, the Maidens are traveling to Germany to use the legendary Black Forest, about which many of our familiar fairy tales have been written, as a setting for video and photographic works. Their presentation at U.turn will include some of these brand new projects.

Denise Burge holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and works as a Professor of Art at University of Cincinnati. She works in a variety of media, including drawing, film, and quiltmaking. Her quilt work has been widely commissioned and collected, and was included in two Quilt National exhibitions. For this work she has been awarded multiple Ohio Arts Council grants, and a Joan Mitchell Foundation award. In 2006 she formed a collaborative animation group called "The Dozens.” Their work premiered at the Fringe Festival in Edinborough, Scotland, and has been in several national and international film festivals. Lisa Siders holds an MFA from University of Cincinnati and teaches at Northern Kentucky University and University of Cincinnati. She has also worked as a freelance artist and designer. She has a wide range of media practices, including fibers, sculpture, and film. Exhibitions include national and international venues; her work has been featured in the Houston International Quilt Festival, and the National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis, TN), as well as various venues in Ohio, and national magazines. As a member of "The Dozens" collaborative animation group, she has exhibited nationally and internationally. For more information about the collaborative visit their website.