MIAMI, FL.-Abba Fine Art presents Debra Holt – Cathartic, on view through October31. Catharsis: n.. an experience or feeling of spiritual release and purification brought about by an intense emotional experience. The purging of emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, such as tragedy or music.

In Drama, the emotion of catharsis is one of a spiritual cleansing experienced by an audience after witnessing a tragedy. It is this very emotion that artist Debra Holt aims to inspire with Cathartic, an interactive installation on view at Abba Fine Art through the end of October.

Six years in the making for Holt, a former New York City resident who incorporates her memories of the city into the installation, Cathartic focuses on the tragic events of September 11, 2001 not only as an instrument of grief, but also as a tribute to those who gave their lives, as an instrument of abolition to relieve the grief and the tragedy experienced on that day, encouraging the public to move on and rebuild while remembering at the same time.

The installation, which inspires an overall feeling of reverence usually reserved for churches, temples, and holy sites, includes many different sections. A Heroes’ Wall pays tribute to the men and women of the New York City Fire and Police Departments. The Prayer Wall combines religious symbols from the three religions of The Book- Christianity, Judaism and Islam- symbolizing the need for unity among the three. This wall serves as a symbol of faith that allows visitors to pray, meditate or ponder on the existence of a higher power. It also stands as an emblem for faith in humanity, in hope that people can one day co-exist without conflict, regardless of their beliefs. The show also includes a Grief Wall, which allows visitors to express their own emotions and purge themselves of the negativity that took hold of the world on that day. The opposite wall, Signs of the Flag, is covered with newspaper articles pertinent to the September 11 tragedy, which have been collected from the day after the attacks through today. A series of paintings reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s The Scream- a painting that also express grief and sadness through existential angst- are suspended in front of the newspaper articles, and are accompanied by an American flag, to represent the unity of the American people through these events as well as outrage for the fact that they had to occur. Next to Signs of the Flag is Real Memories, a table organized as a shrine in honor of the civilian lives lost in 9/11. This arrangement displays everyday objects such as photographs, crucifixes, antiques and small objects which people leave behind after they die. They are reminders that the lives lost on that day were people who had belongings, preferences, and feelings towards specific things, which were left abandoned after they are gone.

The room is unified by common themes- flowers, religious symbols of hope, and pictures of the people who died on that day- as well as a central altar containing objects of both Holt’s personal memories of New York as well as objects related to the tragedy itself. These objects linger in order to deliver a clear message: even though we should move on, it doesn’t mean we should forget.

Cathartic, Holt’s artistic testimony to 9/11, takes the visitor back to that day, not only to serve as a reminder of the destruction to honor the acts of heroism and kindness committed on that day, but to serve as encouragement for rebuilding as well. Like the show’s title implies, Cathartic aims to alleviate the world of its own emotional tension through art, in order to make room for a more positive reconstruction, both in the physical site of the World Trade Center as well as within ourselves.

Holt has also invited acclaimed local art performer Jasmine Kastel to add to the interactive aspect of this installation. This special one time performance will begin sharply at 9:45 pm and will be sure to captivate the viewers. "The Cleansing" is a performance in which Kastel will physically mop/cleanse the floor with her hair and ultimately her body. Hair holds memory, pain and trauma and this performance is about purging, letting go and starting anew. Kastel has performed at Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, The Bass Museum and Marvelli Gallery in New York. She has won numerous awards for her work.

Debra Holt has exhibited her work in both New York and Miami galleries and museums. She graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute, New York, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Florida International University. Holt’s extensive travel experiences in both United States and Abroad have influenced the development of her various artistic expressions. She has been the recipient of many awards and grants including the National Sculpture Society Grant, The Nancy McGrath Award, Lucrezia Bori Foundation Prize, Albert H. Hallgarten Traveling Fellowship, and the Artists' Fellowship, Inc., Grant.