 Bigfoot & Nioka III (Off the Grid), 2003-2005 lambda c-print, 40 by 50 inches (102 by 127 cms) Ellen Lesperance & Jeanine Oleson Samson Projects is pleased to announce the first Boston solo exhibition of works by Ellen Lesperance & Jeanine Oleson. Ellen Lesperance & Jeanine Oleson present a series of seriously funny performance-based photographs with an installation of the project's ephemera, props and textiles. Working together since 2001, the artists venture "off the grid" to engage in fantasies of living outside of society as drop-outs, as prehistoric women, and as survivors. Shot in various locations: Washington, New Mexico, Maine and Florida, the project is additionally an exploration of the contemporary Vision Quest and our ongoing pursuit to coexist with and in nature. "In these new works, the drive to produce images of our survival in the wilderness (...) is extended to include more of a sense of what our lives actually consist of (...) while subsiding there. One aspect of the contemporary quest for meaning in nature consists of finding or tuning into a spiritual presence there, so many of these images are attempts to picture this presence and create an ambiance of the unearthly." Self-criticism, deadpan humor and sincere irony pervade the work. One protagonist is featured living as a ritualistic Bigfoot character, a creature that is unproven to exist. Upon closer look, the wilderness is indeed thick with signs of these protagonists' hidden life. Evidence of absence is not absence of evidence. Ellen Lesperance and Jeanine Oleson recently exhibited their work at the Pump House Gallery, London (UK), the Bates College Museum of Art, ME and Monya Rowe, NYC. Ellen Lesperance received a BFA from The University of WA, Seattle and an MFA from Rutgers University, NJ. Jeanine Oleson received a BFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from Rutgers University, NJ. Lesperance resides in Portland, ME and Oleson resides in Brooklyn, NY. Exhibition: 21 October - 26 November 2005 Gallery hours: Tues-Sun 12 - 6 pm and by appointment Samson Projects 450 Harrison Avenue Storefront 63 USA-Boston, MA 02118 Telephone +1 617 357 7177 Fax +1 617 357 5559 Email samson@samsonprojects.com www.samsonprojects.com |
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