SASHA WORTZEL: DREAMS OF UNKNOWN ISLANDS, ST. AUGUSTINE

Dreams of Unknown Islands is an “ecological dreamscape in which coastal shores, animal migrations, and the shifting colors of the sky are transmitted through ritual sound, projected film.” In the exhibition’s third iteration, functional sculpture house four “listening islands that urge us to pause, rest, and contemplate.” A new sound piece, inspired by time spent in Northeast Florida, will be included in this installation that has shifted and grown since 2020, as Wortzel has spent time communing with the unique ecologies of Florida and collaborating with a rich network of artists, writers, and keepers of the land.

Sasha Wortzel is a visual artist and filmmaker using video, installation, sculpture, sound, and performance to explore how this country’s past and present are inextricably linked through resonant spaces and their hauntings. Raised in South Florida and based in New York City, Wortzel specifically attends to sites and stories systematically erased or ignored from these regions’ histories. Projects examine queer place-making, ecology, and the systems that marginalize, extract, and erase communities, peoples, and histories. Wortzel’s work has been included in film festivals and exhibitions worldwide.

The first incarnation of Dreams of Unknown Islands was originally commissioned and presented by Oolite Arts in January of 2021 and curated by Kristan Kennedy, PICA. Its second iteration was curated by Kristan Kennedy and Stephanie Snyder for the Cooley Memorial Gallery in partnership with Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s 2022 TBA Festival, with the support of Oolite Arts. CEAM’s presentation is made possible with the generous support of Stephanie Snyder and the Cooley Memorial Gallery.

EXHIBITION WALKTHROUGH | FRIDAY, MARCH 3 | 5 PM
OPENING RECEPTION | FRIDAY, MARCH 3 | 5 TO 8 PM

This exhibition will be closed from March 11-18 in accordance with Flagler College’s Spring Break schedule.