Family Member: Ashley Maximillian

Hello everyone and welcome to EP 23 of the Cult?Sure! Podcast! This week we are joined by Ashley Maximillian (she/her)! If you name it, Ashley does it or is going to learn do it eventually! We talk about so much in this episode and she does an insane amount I'll let this summary do the talking cause it'll explain all she does beautifully and better than I ever could. I will add this though, it was amazing to dive into her creative mind and learn about everything she does cause it is all driven by an experimental, curious attitude that is so motivational and will push you to just go out and try whatever you want to learn! Cosmic Cry Transgender-Transdimensional-Transcendent Art and oddities from out of this world Based in Union County, New Jersey, Cosmic Cry encapsulates the creative output of Ashley Maximillian, a transgender self taught artist focused on a wide range of mediums from acrylic to resin, noisy instruments and music production to plant proliferation, junk innovation, and more. A through line of wild chaos magic and fearlessly pushing boundaries brings it all together, representing Ashley’s desire to channel her drive for exploration and transformation into a physical form. Ashley has been active as an artist since 2014 when one of her original songs was included on “Just Sign on the Dotted Line”, a compilation from Electro-Faustus, alongside legendary Japanese noise artist, Merzbow. After that, she contributed art and a few tracks to Uninvited Records. She is familiar with performance and pop up galleries, having collaborated with graffiti artist EKG and sound designer Jefferson Wells as The Avant Squad (TAS) from 2015-2017. Together, they transformed gallery spaces such as the Tender Trap in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Works on Paper in Philadelphia into black voids of iconography, symbols, and noise. During that time, Ashley took part in a tour for Andrew Shirley’s graff art film, “Wastedland 2,” playing shows up and down the East Coast. Since then, Ashley has worked toward building an online and in person community by performing and vending at local art events. She started mixing and mastering music in 2022, mostly working with antifascist black metal and punk bands. She is driven by her love for all shades of teal and will always order the burger on the menu. in her own words:  I embrace an absurdist diy attitude toward art after having amassed a collection of junk over the years. Most of my work is made using recycled or reused materials: paintings that don’t turn out how I wanted become shadows behind new pieces, old works on paper become collage material, drippings from pours are caught on  canvas, old mugs and sturdy containers are repurposed into planters, old circuit boards and odd junk become unique jewelry, and pieces of my old wardrobe are destroyed and brought back to life. Musical Guest: Ashley Maximillian with her song "Sacred Ash". Ashleys Upcoming Events: Trans Art Market Bok 821 Dudley St Philadelphia, PA 19148 MCCNY Queer Holiday Market 446 W 36th St., New York, NY 10018 12/09 6-10pm     12/10 2-7pm      12/11 12-5pm Website: www.cosmiccry.com Instagram: @cosmiccry and @cosmiccrygallery Curated Soundcloud Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/cosmiccry/sets/only-the-hits?si=cc0e61d7de0a4819a1d145ba3b135eea&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing www.cosmiccry.bandcamp.com (check out Ashes!) https://ko-fi.com/cosmiccry