Elizabeth Withstandley
March 28 – June 7, 2020
Common Ground Gallery
Searching for the Miraculous is a trilogy of video/installation works that uses Bas Jan Aders final work, “In Search of the Miraculous” as an entry point for a new experiential journey. The works explore identity, time, transcended experiences and the romantic vision of a quest for something better. The project uses video, audio, music and sculptural elements in the trilogy. It starts with a cinematic short, then a connected journey between two people and finally concludes with a journey of a glass jar floating across the sea. The project is presented as a three channel installation.
Searching for the Miraculous (Part 1: One Day in Death Valley) takes the viewer on a cinematic journey following a young boy through Death Valley. The film is comprised of dialogue sampled from 11 different Hollywood films reconstructed into a new narrative.
Searching for the Miraculous (Part 2: The Journey) is a connected transatlantic voyage shared between two people; the artist and the musician Jordan Lee from the band Mutual Benefit. The video is comprised of a 5 channel composite showing aspects during each day of the transatlantic journey, and a choir that was waiting for the arrival in Ireland.
Searching for the Miraculous (Part 3: The Voyager) focuses on the journey of glass jar floating across the Atlantic while also tying the project to the origin of Bas’ journey, Cape Cod. The video allows the viewer to think about the possible outcome to ones quest for the Miraculous.
About the artist:
Elizabeth Withstandley is from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She is one of the co-founders of Locust Projects, a not-for-profit art exhibition space, in Miami, FL. Her piece “The Real Brian Wilson” is a semi-finalist in the 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. In the summer of 2019 she is working on a residency project at the Curfew Tower in Northern Ireland called “Searching for the Miraculous”. In the project she will engage in a transatlantic crossing while working with a musician that will be stationed at the tower creating a soundtrack for the experience. Recently she organized the exhibition Smoke & Mirrors at The Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA. She has exhibited work at Carination Contemporary, Portland, Oregon, SIM gallery Reykjavik Iceland, Dimensions Variable, Miami, FL, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA, Winslow Garage, Los Angeles, CA, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, The Moore Space, Miami, Fredric Snitzer, Miami, The Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, The Tel Aviv Artists’ Studios, Israel, The Bass Museum, Miami, Cultural Center, and Sao Paolo Brazil. Her work has been featured in Art Papers, The Miami Herald, and The New Times.