Solitude_The Exhibition Continues at Open Space for Arts & Community

After the successful February 3rd opening, the immersive multimedia exhibit by Julia Wilkins is extended.

Earthy, plaster bodies twist and dance across the exhibit walls. Films of dance and movement on built in screens create a distinct world. The ethereal music of Qasim Naqvi echoes through the air. Open Space and inaugural artist in residence Julia Wilkins invite you to experience Solitude_The Exhibition. The installation opened on February 3rd and continues through February 20th. For a listing of specific installation hours and times, Islanders are encouraged to visit openspacevashon.com

According to programming director David Godsey, “We are thrilled to continue offering this one-of-a-kind exhibit. Julia’s work is truly a “must-see” piece, and we couldn’t be happier as an Open Space team to present this as our first artist in residence installation. Once it is gone, it’s gone, so we hope to see many of you over these two upcoming weekends.”

 

Click the video above for our Solitude_The Exhibition trailer

New York City-based multimedia artist Julia Wilkins grew up in Edmonds, Washington. Daughter of Olympic Ballet founders John and Helen Wilkins, Julia has practiced and experimented with performance art for as long as she can remember. Informed by her background in dance, dance theater, and aerial harness, Julia began her career after graduating from Tisch School of the Arts. Along with performing arts, Wilkins works as a designer, knitter, and sculptor, and interweaves these diverse disciplines throughout her installations as her way of relating to the world. Through an invitation for intimacy and beauty, she hopes to open the way for an inclusive world, based on the physical connection between humanity and its environment.

In August of 2019, Wilkins worked with a team of artists to create Solitude_Live at the Catskill Art Society in New York. Solitude_Live was an interdisciplinary event. Sculptures, fabric, light, music, film and the movement of four dancers embodied the sensations of journeying toward oneness with others, the struggle for unity, and an expression of sensuality seen through the veil of solitude.

While visiting her aunt and uncle and longtime Islanders Bonnie and Tom Wilkins on Vashon Island, WA, Wilkins visited Open Space for Arts & Community. Striking up a conversation with Open Space programming director David Godsey last summer, they realized Open Space could

offer the vast physical space and broader support she needed to bring a reimagining of Solitude_Live to the island.

Work on the installation began in early January and continues until February. Solitude_The Exhibition is a large-scale installation that takes three sculptures from Solitude_Live and incorporates them into an immersive maze of sculptures, the projection of Solitude_The Film, and footage of the original performance.

Wilkins describes the installation as an enchanting invitation. “There is a ghostly feel in the world of plaster and fabric and light. I want the audience to feel like they have entered into a world that is distinct and carries you outside of your normal structures and away from your mind. It’s something that is visceral and foreign and welcoming and human.”

Final Dates and Times to catch Solitude_The Exhibition:

-Saturday, February 12th, 1-3pm
-Sunday, February 13th, 1-3pm

-Saturday, February 19th, 1-3pm
-Sunday, February 20th, 1-3pm

Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to experience this installation in person on Saturday and Sunday February 12th-13th and 19th-20th from 1-3pm. Admission is free and donations are accepted to assist the artist to cover costs. Masks are required for all visitors. Doors will be open to allow for improved airflow. Please stay home if you are experiencing COVID symptoms or if you have been exposed to someone who is. Learn more about how to see the installation in person or online by visiting OpenSpaceVashon.com, or learn more about the artist by visiting JuliaWilkins.com.