Heather Stratton (b. 1983 in Battle Creek, Michigan) is an artist-educator working in
analog & electronic lens-based media, and time-based work. Her work is
confessional in nature, focusing on themes of the memory ghost, ritual and
repetition, superstition, the cosmos and myth. Stratton earned her M.F.A. in
Photographic and Electronic Media from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2012. She has shown her work and been invited as guest speaker/artist nationally,
and internationally. Stratton currently teaches darkroom and digital media at the
University of Kentucky.
Forensics & Ceremony: Iteration #4
video, 2015
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” -Rumi
“Through the work of Forensics & Ceremony, I seek to create a space of mental
contemplation where the viewer may find themselves in a ceremonious space
before moving into a place of inner reflection, mindfulness, or earthly grounding.
This video (installation) offers the viewer an intimate escape from the outside
world, as it is contained within its own dark environment, whether that is in a
gallery where it is shown, or in the comfort of the viewer’s own home with the lights
turned off and headphones plugged in. The video and sound function as potentially
continuous loop without a definitive entrance or exit point.
Viewers are encouraged to immerse themselves in this environment—to listen and
watch without the anxiety of time constraint. Emotional focus, mental clarity and
calm are elusive concepts to many of us today. Through my various “Iterations” of
Forensics & Ceremony I am not just creating a dedicated space and time for the
viewer to engage with, but I am also creating that space for myself as the creator. All
of the Iterations are considerably short in their runtimes; however, my goal is to
make the time spent engaging with each one to feel much longer…in a good way! In
the same way one might feel after taking a power nap.”
TheWhisperingTree
video, 2016
“The Whispering Tree is a video-poetry narrative that explores themes of the dominance of the patriarchy through historical familial footage, spoken word poetry and other footage and sound. My family name ceased—and became reimagined–at the point of my great-grandparent’s immigration through Ellis Island at the start of the 1900’s, as our family name was reassigned to something more Americanized in the eyes of the government officials. I am fascinated not only by this event that wiped away my family’s true name, but also how we erase each generation’s name through marriage, only preserving the patriarchal name. The other side of the family–the patriarchal side–had settled in the Kentucky mountains in the early 1700’s. The more women born into the family, the quicker our name and lineage was lost within the history books.”
