Watts Valley
This is my current project about the valley I grew up in. These projects focus on our human perception of death in the natural world and the ways we attempt to interrupt: road kill, roadside memorials, extreme empathy, and psychotic detachment.
Bunny, 2020. Chicken wire, faux fur, acrylic paint and spray paint.
The Body is Not One Member, But Many. Now Are They Many, But of One Body, 2020. Tin foil, chicken wire, wood, candles, balloons, spray paint, and costume jewlery.
Roadkill, 2020. Plastic owl and flesh body.
I.A.V.S., 2020. Coyote #1. White spray paint and animal killed by car.
The largest single wildfire in California history decimated a large swath of mine and these animals’ homes. They were forced down the mountain because of the fire, only to die at the hands of a motorist.
Skunk.
Coyote #2.
Coyote #2.
Process Documentation/Sketches
Photography
Film, 2020.
Film, 2020.
Film, 2020.
Film, 2020.
Digital, 2020.
Digital, 2020.
Fabric
My experimentation with fabric has been amplified by the pandemic. For me, it is a totally enjoyable practice in casual expression. A selection of my current collaboration with Collin Bender is accessable at:
https://worldsoup.online/
Joni Jacket, 2019. Sharpie on handmade jacket (made by Collin Bender). Collaboration shown at Greenpoint Gallery in Winter 2019.
Fabric marker practice. 2020.
An homage to the tradition of ‘Senior Cords’. Fabric marker on cotton.
Skinning the Rabbit
This video piece is in part an homage to my childhood neighbor who always wore white cashmere turtlenecks and layers of orange foundation.
CLICK HERE-----︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎︎https://www.youtube.com/watchv=uvvLGVsUATo&ab_channel=EmilyWichtrich
Falling Man
This installation was a response to the “The Falling Man”, a photograph taken by Richard Drew on September 11, 2001. Upon viewing that image and researching the depths of its context, I felt compelled to react to the substantial number of those who jumped. They, as a separate group,
are unrepresented in any formal capacity. Homicide is the blanket cause of death for all victims of the 9/11 attacks. Regardless of what would have happened if things were different, I find deep human significance in the particular choice made by those that jumped. Or fell, depending on who you ask.
The Falling Man, 2019.
Info
I am a visual artist based in NYC. I was raised in a rural area east of Fresno, CA and this greatly influences my creative work.
Right now, I am interested in physical manifestations of spirituality. My Watts Valley project continues under new guises in the big city.
I am also very interested in meeting and working with other people who identify with my work.
I am most accessible by email: emilywichtrich@gmail.com
Education
2015-2019
University of San Francisco
Bachelor of arts: major in political science, major in fine arts
GPA: 3.88, Summa Cum Laude
