Anita Holtsclaw: Searching

Overview

Throughout 2014, Anita Holtsclaw has held the esteemed position of Metro Arts' Artist in Residence. Now, she brings her year in the spotlight to an end with an exhibition that continues her career-long screen-based experimentation.

Holtsclaw is known for focusing on vision and representation in her work, particularly how female protagonists are depicted and seen in cinema. Searching continues this focus, enacting the poetic definition of the titular term in a contemplation of dialogues of longing and loss in the landscape.

The output of Bas Jan Ader proves influential too, with the Dutch conceptual and performance artist lost at sea during his final work, 1975's In Search Of The Miraculous. Using video shot off the shores of Bundaberg (her home town) combined with sea soundscapes and sail-like textiles, Holtsclaw shapes Searching as a continuation of Ader's efforts and a response to his tragic end, while also furthering her own theoretical framework and filtering through various personal experiences.