Fathom (MCMLXXVI) at the Front

My solo exhibition Fathom (MCMLXXVI) opens on May 10th at the Front. There will be an opening reception on May 10th from 6-10pm and the exhibition will run until June 8th. Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 12-5pm. The Front is located at 4100 St. Claude Ave. in New Orleans, LA.

Artist Statement

There was a renaissance of artistic freedom in mainstream films during the 70s. At this time, the public began to embrace international, independent and alternative cinema, which encouraged filmmakers to redefine their craft in visual and narrative terms. This resulted in a strangeness and originality that could never make it into the big budget films of today.

Horror and sci-fi often express the zeitgeist or fears of an era. In this period, feminism translated into the new phenomenon of the female protagonist transitioning from victim to heroine, such as in classics like Halloween or Alien. The Satanic Panic of the religious right created an interest in occult subjects, which were the focus of so may filmmakers of the time like Roman Polanski and Dario Argento.

The exhibition, Fathom (MCMLXXVI), examines elements of horror and sci-fi from this period. Through digital photography, I create the outline of a narrative, giving the viewer stills from an imagined film. I give clues, such as a female lead being pursued by an invisible antagonist, which suggests the supernatural is at play. I project a video of a ghostly scene on loop behind a velvet movie curtain with a single red light bulb, suggesting a space where a medium would summon spirits. Style and subject matter take on the elements of the uncanny, the seductive and the enticing quality of our anxieties and curiosities.