This short film stems from the work of author Clarice Lispector and attempts to nest notions of foreignness, commercialization, motherhood and mother tongue within a dialog-less framework that references Lispector’s unconventional use of language. Her approach to writing results in a perception of time that is equally elastic and solid; I’ve referenced this fugue-like method visually. Leitmotifs of mortality, labor (emotional and physical) and internal landscape shaped by cultural values are embodied here through my lens with her linguistic sensibility as a filter. An aural prologue preceded by a live score created and performed by William Hayes will be played while the the video is shown at the Forum.

Carter Bio:

Jessa Carter’s artistic practice is an externalization of an internal conversation about impermanence, temporality, rhythm and cycles. Her work explores stasis, alchemy and the feminine perspective. She is interested in mapping abstract constructs as they develop into finite physical structure and infrastructure. Her process is both rooted and porous, stemming from image making and collaborations in which mediums are blended and work is stretched across the terrain of motion, sculpture, performance, writing and sound. An early affinity for foreign and ancient cultures has propelled Jessa’s desire to rediscover forgotten practices, systems and values. Her hope is to revive the concept of community and respect for life on earth as one unified ecosystem by establishing a foundation for praxis.

Hayes Bio:

William Hayes is a Seattle based multi-instrumentalist and composer of music and sound design for film, dance, and theater, and contributor to a various artists as a performer and improviser. He is guitarist and collaborator with experimental electronic band Newaxeyes, who recently released their debut LP Black Fax (2018, Important Records) and, working alongside producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth), William recently played guitars on Jóhann Jóhannson’s score to Panos Cosmatos’ upcoming film Mandy (2018), Myrkur’s award-winning album Mareridt (2017, Relapse Records), and has toured internationally as keyboardist for Wolves in the Throne Room, and as guitarist for Kate Wallich’s Industrial Ballet. William received a Bachelor of Music in classical composition from Cornish College of the Arts in 2013.

Scherer Wilson Bio:

Maria Scherer Wilson performs and records alternative and classical styles as a cellist, inspires all levels of string musicians as a teacher, and embraces humankind at her West Seattle practice Earthtone Healing, as an energy and sound healer. Maria has always valued the natural world, and is an avid gardener, and lover of everything living. She started her yoga studies many years ago, and understands the importance of how an integrated Body, Mind and Soul can connect you into the deepest layers of Love, Life and Sound.

Bio:

Stay For Tea (2018) is a performative work that revisits the time of healing and germination of an artist that was excommunicated from her Slavic-Christian refugee community following an unconvicted sexual assault. In this expanded-cinema work, artist Rollöfall deconstructs the conventions of the documentary genre—“story” and “evidence”—to tell the truth of her lived experience—what was said and what still haunts. What is remembered collectively, and what was washed away in a shower. Rollöfall believes even non-fiction cannot be entirely un-biased and utilizes the limitations of film conventions to examine her story. Four years after the inciting incident, Rollöfall invited several friends and family to sit down for a conversation over tea regarding the time in between. These anonymous recordings serve as the backbone of the piece that are supported by the artist’s collection of photographs, performances and artifacts that visualize the full picture of how these events affected Rollöfall’s distanced life. Through the use of projection, action painting, tasks, and performative reconstructions, Rollöfall invites the viewer in to understand the story and her everyday living evidence of what happened.

Bio:

Rollöfall works primarily in experimental documentary film, where she combines her foundations as a painter and editor to create bittersweet, colorful time-based collages. Her family immigrated to the USA from Ukraine in 2004 when the country accepted an influx of Slavic-Christian refugees for the persecution they endured in the Soviet Union. Rollöfall spent her adolescence in the greater Seattle area before attending Cornish College of the Arts for Visual Arts. She soon transferred to the newly established Film + Media program, receiving her BFA as the major’s first graduate. Rollöfall’s films have been exhibited internationally, including abroad (Amakula FF, Souq FF, Filmaid FF, etc.,) nationally (MY HERO IFF, L.A.Live Awareness FF, Say It Loud FF Baltimore,etc.) and locally (Next Fest NW, Strictly Seattle 17’).

36.5 /A Durational Performance with the Sea is a time-based project spanning seven years and six continents: New York-based artist Sarah Cameron Sunde stands in a tidal area for a full cycle, usually 12-13 hours, as water engulfs her body and then reveals it again. The public is invited to participate by joining Sarah in the water and by marking the passing hours from the shore. The project began in 2013 as a response to Hurricane Sandy’s impact on New York City and the parallel that Sunde saw in the the struggle for artists to survive on a daily basis in the city and the struggle of humanity to survive in the face of sea-level rise. The project was developed in Maine, Mexico and San Francisco 2013-2014, launched on a global scale in the Netherlands in 2015; the fifth iteration was recently completed in Bangladesh. The performance is filmed from multiple perspectives and then translated into multi-channel video installations that can communicate to a wider audience.

The project will be performed at least three more times in bodies of water around the world before coming home to New York City in 2020.

Bio:

Sarah Cameron Sunde is an interdisciplinary artist and director working at the intersection of performance, video and public art. She is the creator of 36.5 /A Durational Performance with the Sea (an ongoing work spanning seven years and six continents) and instigator of Works on Water (a new triennial dedicated to art that is made on, in and with the water). Sunde has served as Deputy Artistic Director of New Georges for the past 16 years (2001-2016), co-founded the live art collective Lydian Junction and the theater company, Oslo Elsewhere, and is known internationally as Jon Fosse’s American director and translator. Among other places, her work been seen at 3LD Art & Technology Center, the Knockdown Center, EFA Project Space, Rattlestick, Kennedy Center, Guthrie Theater and presented internationally in Norway, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Mexico, China, Uganda and Iraqi Kurdistan. Residencies include LMCC Workspace, Watermill Center, Hermitage Foundation, upcoming: Baryshnikov Art Center. Honors include Princess Grace Awards in 2005, 2017, Creative Climate Award First Prize 2015, recipient of funding from Invoking the Pause, LMCC Creative Engagement, the Perry Foundation, Norwegian Consulate, Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst. She holds a BA in Theater from UCLA and MFA in Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice from The City College of New York, CUNY.

Artist Statement:

I make live performance and video works that play with scale and duration and engage the public directly. My work is an intimate encounter with our ephemeral nature, a fine line between complete abandon and utter control, action and stillness.

Time is my primary subject, both in content and form: I investigate ideas about temporality of place, create moments and live images to remind us of the ancient past and the distant future, and play with duration in order to expand individual and collective sensory experience.

I create interactive moments and situations that strive to stimulate dialogue between strangers and open new possibilities between the everyday and the existential.

Much of my process is informed by 17 years of practice as a theater-maker, director and translator. I believe in collaboration across disciplines, juxtaposing seemingly disparate materials, and letting narrative emerge. Since 2011, I have been experimenting with video and actively crossing formal boundaries, and become more and more rooted in communities, both local and global.