GNAW is a visceral triptych by Fleet Cooperative. Blending contemporary and club styles, we challenge myths, binaries, and systems—amplifying the truth that queer, non-binary, and BIPOC communities have always been at the forefront of culture. Together, we chew through illusion and bare our teeth to truth.
We’d like to extend our gratitude for our generous hosts: The Pearl on Main, and Arts on Site for making this performance possible.
Dirt Between The Teeth
by Alex Seager
Welcome to the mythos of the American West.
Where the highest pride is in the isolated. The most celebrated in the masculine. Where morals are followed, lines are clear, good always triumphs over bad, and the stoic, rugged heroes never fail to ride in and save the day.
This myth has been rotting our gums ever since we first snuck a taste, and yet we’ve been chewing on it with blackened mouths even after our teeth have chipped.
We are exhausted, my friend. We are filthy. We are disgusted with ourselves, with each other, with this god-awful taste in our mouths and with this gut-wrenching hypocrisy rooted in our own legends. We need to tend to the blisters on our feet and the dust in our hearts and the smoke in our eyes.
Peel back the myth, prod at your bleeding gums. Have a seat by the fire, friend. Be with each other. Take off your hat. Take off your boots. Look around. Naked, raw, bleeding, beneath the wild sky. Feel your rage. Feel your sorrow. And please, please feel your empathy.
There is no hero riding into the sunset—it’s already dark.
Teeth Agape
by Hailey Nilson + Shelby Taylor
Transcending generations of oppression, we confront the rigid societal binaries we've inherited and upheld. We are told there only exists ones and zeroes—but liberation begins when we accept there’s far more possible than that.
Peeling back the access panel to reveal the grinding gears of the machine—one built without nature in mind. At its center, the raw, unfiltered words of Gabby Windey and Marie Davidson pulse with the internal conflict of the human psyche, trapped in a system that punishes us no matter what we choose.
It’s rage. It’s labor. It’s heels on concrete and a scream into the void.
Working, working, working—for what?
As the cage becomes more apparent, we are fueled by our pain and liberated by our rage.
Teeth Agape is a realization.
A glitch in the matrix.
The moment we choose to drop the act.
The Skin of Our Teeth
by Sawyer Rain Player
Born out of shared agony and hope, “The Skin of Our Teeth” is a love letter to community. The work symbolizes raw unbridled hunger, the continuous suffering of the common folk, and surviving together under the umbrella of oppression.
It draws on imagery of a seemingly perfect family portrait, each character more curious and complex than could ever be captured in a moment.
It draws on imagery of a medieval town square, where people gather
to gossip
to dance
to hurl rotted fruit at criminals
to celebrate.
It draws on imagery of a metropolis, where bodies come together to whisper
or laugh
or shout
or smoke a cigarette.
There is honesty in this representation of community, as the process was organically informed by the artists of Fleet Co-Op, and my observations of the interpersonal dynamics they have nurtured. “The Skin of Our Teeth” is a reminder that through the darkest tunnels we must guide each other- the pandemonium that awaits at the other side is blindingly bright.