Exhibitions Jarmo (and its Consequences) by Emma Piper-Burket
May 1-19, 2019 Project Space Two
Jarmo (and its consequences) is a multimedia film project examining the role agriculture plays in the anthropocene. From 2009-2015 Piper-Burket made yearly research and filming trips to Iraq (mostly Iraqi Kurdistan)- making several visits to farms, seed banks, the ministry of agriculture, and the archaeological site of Jarmo (where it is believed wheat and livestock were first domesticated). She also has access to audio-visual archives from the archaeological digs at Jarmo conducted by the Braidwoods in the 1950s and early 60s, courtesy of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Piper-Burket is interested in finding new ways of indexing and sharing this research material, visually. At VSW she will be experimenting with these display ideas and also conducting research into the film, photography, and magic lantern archives for material related to agriculture in order to contextualize and re-contextualize the footage she has already gathered.
Emma Piper-Burket is a visual artist, filmmaker, and writer. Her work is process-based and research driven, incorporating social trends, ancient history, science, politics, ephemera, and the natural world into her creative practice. She holds an MFA from FAMU in Prague, and a BA in Arabic and Classics from Georgetown University.
Support for this project came from Max and Marian Farash Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, and the New York State Council on the Arts Visual Arts program.