7 days, in the round, 24 hours, around the head, mapping time, from dust to dust Carrie Secrist Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new work by Joy Episalla. Joy
Episalla is a New York-based artist who works in the interstices
between photography, video and sculpture. She is interested in mapping
sites that are fluid and changeable, routine and everyday in nature.
She works with the mutability of photographed and filmed images,
intervals of time and spatial volume. This
show is the premiere of two video works that originated from a period
of time the artist spent working in the Western Desert of Egypt in
2006. Among the new works on exhibit are: 1 youm /1 day:
a system of notation, a single-channel video piece: 24 hours of life
condensed into 24 minutes, mapping the unplanned movements of people
making their momentary mark in the vast desert expanse, leaving only
their traces in the sand—a system of (un)choreographic notation
scattered by the wind. The camera's viewpoint is stationary and
objective throughout the 24 hours, capturing all that takes place: from
absence, to presence, to absence again.Joy episalla
168 sand
Laser Drawing #3,
one of a series of photographs made by using laser levels to draw lines
mapping the topography of the desert at night. Shot in semi-darkness,
with only the lasers visible at the time, the images reveal themselves
more fully on film than to the naked eye, the crispness of the lasers
softening and expanding through the exposure. In scarf dissolves,
a single-channel video piece, the intimate gesture of a person putting
on a headscarf without the use of a mirror is recorded and manipulated–
multiple individuals covering and mapping the terrain of their heads
with a piece of cloth through touch and memory. During
Episalla's stay in the Western Desert of Egypt she found a number of
rock specimens. From Episalla's research so far the specimens seem to
be tektites, resulting from meteorites that break apart and strewn
across a landscape when a meteorite impacts the earth causing a crater.
These have become subjects of two works: strewnfield #1 and strewnfield
# 2. Episalla is consulting with the American Museum of Natural
History to further research the specimens. Joy
Episalla has exhibited widely both here in the U.S. and in Europe. This
will be her second one-person exhibition with Carrie Secrist Gallery. The
artist wishes to thank Fenenin El-Rahhal (Nomadic Artists), 2006
International Artists Summit, for the opportunity to work in the
Western Desert of Egypt. For additional information please contact us by calling 312.491.0917, faxing 312.491.1145, or emailing secristgallery@aol.com. Opening Friday 5 September 6-9pm
Exhibition continues through 25 October 835 West Washington Blvd. Chicago
