monika bravo
ON THE VERGE of . . .

June 11 – August 13, 2010

Reception: Friday June 11, 6-8 pm

Monika Bravo, On The Verge of . . . (detail), 2009, multiple channel video with sound

Monika Bravo, On The Verge of . . . (detail), 2009, multiple channel video with sound

Monika Bravo, On The Verge of . . . , 2009, multiple channel video with sound

Monika Bravo, On The Verge of . . . , 2009, multiple channel video with sound

Monika Bravo, La Illa-Ha Illa'llah-part 1, 2009, single channel video with sound

Monika Bravo, La Illa-Ha Illa'llah-part 1, 2009, single channel video with sound

Moving image artist Monika Bravo uses film and video to create an experience through abstract images and sound that emotionally and intellectually engages viewers. She arranged the display of one multi-channel and three single-channel works in the Montserrat Gallery.

Her multiple channel video installation On the Verge of . . . involves the projection of three looping videos of contrasting images. Its atmospheric original sound score enhances the potential for psychological involvement with the piece. By juxtaposing contrasting visual details such as blades of grass, tree branches and sky, rather than providing a scripted story line, viewers are encouraged to use their imagination to create their own narrative to make sense of the pairings.

Three individual pieces on two monitors will show single channel video from the La Illa-Ha Illa'llah series. The title is an Arabic phrase translating as "there is no deity but God/Allah" and repeated five times a day in the Muslim tradition. "The Sufi poet Rumi danced in devotion to the organic powers of the universe. While he whirled he repeated [this prayer] La Illa-Ha Illa'llah until he fell into a trance of deep worship," says Bravo. In this ongoing project, the artist collects footage of natural disasters from YouTube and films to compose a single channel video montage. She then distorts the imagery to abstract the footage to painterly effect. "I find these images endowed with most compelling beauty despite their subject, eerily calling for an immediate awareness of how fragile the ecosystem is." Her method operates as a visual seduction that attracts the viewer, only to disorient he or she once they realize that they are actually looking at a forest fire, a flood or a volcanic eruption.