Wildin
DETAILS
June 10, 2020
A video by Kirstin Mitchell
There is a misconception that meditation is about bliss. On the contrary, it is very much about presence, and in the present, everything arises – all the strange and real. David Lynch is a good example of a meditative practitioner who uses strangeness to create such complex portraits of nature, humanness, and the underworld. Energy is a medium in and of itself and as my materiality might change I am still playing with these moving forces.
I isolated myself in a cabin in North Georgia during the first six weeks of the quarantine. The woods became a safe haven to process the intense energies that were coming up as a result of the pandemic and isolation, and quickly became a residency for the series, Quarantine Sketches.
In the documentation are these raw moments with stillness or with the uncontrollable. And as a participant, I am observing, interpreting, or interrupting them. The interruption comes in as resistance that might arise in that awareness. I am observing myself as the almost laughable finite part of the whole, but also as life itself celebrating the landscape that is enveloping me. The videos are sketches of experiential moments, as are the photographs. They are channels to the sacred or unknown. They are places beyond the gradients but very similar in that they are here to awaken to the present moment whether calming, electrifying or surreal.
About the Artist
Kirstin Mitchell is a multi-disciplinary artist living and working in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mitchell creates experiential environments in various mediums including painting, installation, and performance. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally including exhibitions in Austria and Italy.
Mitchell is a recent MOCA GA Working Artist Project Fellow and has a studio through the Atlanta Contemporary Studio Artist Program. She has performed with the support of the Franklin Furnace Fund in Manhattan, New York, and her work has been featured in Art in America, Art Papers, and Flash Art magazines.
She has attended residencies at AIR Serenbe and abroad for the Premio della Performance in Trentino, Italy. Recent solo exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta Contemporary, and Hathaway Gallery.
Collections include Portman Architects, MOCA GA, as well as private collections in the United States and Europe.
