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January 29, 2020 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
with artist Leigh Davis
Join us for a conversation and discussion with artist Leigh Davis focusing on ELEs (end-of-life experiences). ELEs are unusual experiences that typically occur around the time of a death and are experienced by a person who is dying or who has lost a loved one. These experiences can be interpreted as premonitions, deathbed visions, golden light, changes in the temperature or atmosphere, terminal lucidity, or eerie coincidences. The talk invites the audience to participate and speculate about the boundaries between the physical world, the emotional world, and what may exist beyond.
About Leigh Davis
I create multimedia work that is both deeply personal and anthropologically rich, navigating the complex line between voyeurism and empathy. In recent years, projects have taken the form of shrines, altars, and collections of various objects and images that work together to form a cohesive and immersive installation. To house these works, I have been drawn to sites that present their own spirituality or sense of community, using this intrinsic human quality to complement the stories represented in the installations. My overall work is designed to foster connection between viewers and community members, encouraging conversation about the aspects of humanity that keep us apart and bring us together. Currently, I am working on a body of work about the modern rituals surrounding death and the remnants of the life left behind. Vigil, my recent site-based audio installation, stems from my membership with a community of women continuing the tradition of bedside singing to the dying. This project was created for the historic chapel at Green-Wood Cemetery 10/17. I teach courses at Parsons the New School for Design and work between Brooklyn NY and Washington DC.
