Vanessa Renwick: Hunting Requires Optimism & Medusa Smack

In conjunction with Cinema Pacific and made possible by a JSMA Academic Support Grant, the JSMA is pleased to present two video installations by Portland-based artist Vanessa Renwick. Renwick’s installations address serious issues, related to our environment, in often humorous ways. Hunting Requires Optimism, on view in the Artist Project Space, contrasts the challenges wolves face in finding food with those of humans seeking sustenance. Medusa Smack, an immersive video installation in 240A (off the Barker Gallery), is inspired by this quote from Haruki Murakami: “What we see before us is just one tiny part of the world. We get into the habit of thinking, this is the world, but that’s not true at all. The real world is a much darker and deeper place than this, and much of it is occupied by jellyfish and things.” The piece has a score composed and performed by Tara Jane ONeil that includes sounds recorded by the artist Harry Bertoia on his Sonambient sound sculptures. Renwick is one of the most highly regarded experimental filmmakers in the U.S. Her installations have been displayed at the Centre Pompidou, the Tacoma Art Museum, PDX Contemporary Art, and the Elizabeth Leach Gallery, and her films have screened internationally.