Mayne Bautista

Sweet Flesh, Collaboration with Madison Nybog

Through our performance, we explored what it means to defy tradition and live as an outcast, longing for love in a world that often rejects it. The pomegranate, both sacred and sensual, became our symbol, its slow, tender opening mirroring the vulnerability required to love and be loved. As we fed each other its seeds, we offered parts of ourselves, enacting a ritual of devotion, grief, and eternal connection. Draped in veils stained with juice, we embodied the beauty and chaos of being human, reflecting on desire, sacrifice, and shared identity. In the end, the ringing bell echoed death and resurrection a reminder that even in ruin, we are bound together by touch, by memory, and by the sacred mess we carry.