Opening: Erik Blinderman / Lisa Rave – Americium
Artist talk: Lisa Rave within the context of the exhibition "Americium" by Erik Blinderman & Lisa Rave
"Americium", Erik Blinderman and Lisa Rave’s new exhibition centers on a film of the same name. Taking its title from a man made radioactive element on the periodic table, Americium addresses the literal contamination of sacred lands and the spiritual neglect of an American landscape.
The film revolves around the contested long term nuclear storage facility of Yucca Mountain using portraits of individuals and local communities to explore the conflicting ideologies and fantasies of the American West. It is a search for what is invisible and embedded within the landscape, a meditation on what is simultaneously real and imagined. The project is a culmination of several years of research on the subject, with most material being produced just prior to the November 2016 Presidential Election.
