The Inferno (Cantos 8-17) at Sanchez Art Center (2013)

The minotaur (marionette)

Location: Sanchez Art Center

Dates: February 22 through March 30, 2013

Performance: February 22, 2013

About The Inferno

Niki Ulehla's work on Dante's Inferno continues with a new group of puppets. She combines traditional carved wooden marionettes with found object based "toys" to create the characters inhabiting the hell described by Dante. The puppets will be in action the night of the opening, with a performance in the gallery. The performance will begin with the two travelers, Dante and Virgil, crossing the river Styx. They will pass through the fifth circle of Anger, the sixth of the Heretics and the seventh of Violence. This portion of their journey will end riding away on Geyron, the beast of Fraud.

Niki began the long-term project of translating Dante's Inferno into a puppet show in 2011 during a residency at Recology. During a four-month period she created puppets and a performance of the first four circles of the Inferno using materials scavenged from the Public Disposal Area at Recology. The use of these discarded materials provided both opportunities for new techniques of construction, but more conceptually, an afterlife for these objects discarded from our daily lives.

Niki has been developing the new puppets for over a year and working with her collaborators Renu Cappelli and Petra Class on the development of the action of the show. The performance in February will also be in collaboration with Wobbly, the SF based electronic musician, who has created an aural translation of the puppet's journey.

After the opening night performance, February 22nd (2013), the puppets will be on display through March 30th (2013). A film of the Inferno by David Driver will accompany the objects in addition to prints by Ulehla.

February 22 - March 30, 2013
Opening reception: Friday, February 22, 7-9 pm
Live Performance: February 22, 8 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, March 30, 4 pm

The Inferno at Sanchez Art Center