REWILDING. A Return.
in honor of Earth Day Weekend
with artist Rachel Frank & Elaine Su-Hui
Sunday April 23, 2017
11am - 1pm
Photo by Rachel Frank
Rewilding is an environmental practice which reintroduces species to environments where they had formerly thrived but have since gone extinct, which in turn reestablishes the landscape's former ecosystems and increases sustainability. In 2016, artist Rachel Frank spent 2 weeks in Alaska at the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge, researching and documenting the reintroduction, or 'rewilding', of the native wood bison to the Innoko region, which marked the first time in over a century this species has lived in the United States. The reintegration of this almost-extinct animal has had a profound, nuanced and far-reaching effect on the Innoko landscape, wildlife and local community alike.
In commemoration of Earth Day weekend, Rachel will be transforming the Inner Fields studio into a microcosm of the Innoko region, with an installation of her incredibly life-like bison-head sculptures, alongside visual projections and field recordings from her time camping and traveling through Alaska.
Beginning with a conversation about her project 'Rewilding', where she incorporates her bison masks into site-specific performances about the landscape's past, present and future, we will also discuss her philosophical, artistic and personal approach to addressing ecological sustainability, and explore the ways a deeply felt connection to nature generates the fundamental motivation to protect it. Following the discussion, guests will then be invited to lie down in meditation to 'listen to the land', with a soundscape provided from Rachel's field recordings and selected historic and personal readings evoking the Innoko region and the story of the bison.
Born and raised in Kentucky, Rachel Frank received her BFA from The Kansas City Art Institute and her MFA from The University of Pennsylvania. Her work uses sculpture, theater, and performance to explore the tensions between the natural world and the manmade, the animal and the political, and the past and the present. Rachel Frank is the recipient of numerous awards, including grants from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, The Puffin Foundation, and The Franklin Furnace Archive. She has attended residencies at Yaddo, The Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation, Sculpture Space, The Women’s Studio Workshop, and The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Her performance pieces have been shown at HERE, Socrates Sculpture Park, The Select Fair, and the Bushwick Starr in New York City and The Marran Theater at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Currently, she lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. www.rachelfrank.com
Inner Fields is located in a private studio in Prospect Heights. RSVP below to receive the address.
Space is extremely limited. Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours prior to any gathering in case there is a waiting list. Thank you for this consideration.