Chrysalis is an installation of a series of projection sculptures based on the beautiful nests of tent caterpillars. The sculptures are constructed of branches and agricultural netting. Video imagery using creative code to manipulate footage of movement artists, as well as scientific imagery, will draw from the replicating forms of nature (Generativity) to illuminate the Chrysalises. D’Agostino will be using Isadora for the creative coding and MadMapper to projection map the video onto the Chrysalises' sculptural screens. Video projections mapped onto layered scrim in the sculptures will further multiply the imagery beyond the digital manipulations made possible by Isadora and MadMapper. Additional objects will compliment the video sculptures.  

“One of my  earliest memories is of holding a tent caterpillar in my hand at around age three and asking my mother if caterpillars have a soul. I was fascinated by their gorgeous nests and by the process of transformation unfolding inside them. Chrysalis is a deep dive into answering the broader question contained within my childhood sense of marvel, and an examination of the strange sacredness of living things. It also revels in how all things are intertwined and hopes to  expose the idea of singularity as a paradox. Seventy years after that original question I'm also fascinated by the possibility of emerging from one state of being into another. Or of merging–if emerging is not what's next.” – Fernanda D’Agostino

With performances by: 
Sophia Wright Emigh 
Tahni Holt 
Jaleesa Johnston 
Lisa & JuJu Kusanagi
Lu Yim
Crystal Cortez

Sound by:
Ran Bagno
Crystal Cortez
Fernanda D'Agostino
Sophia Wright Emigh
Guillermo Gallindo
Karim Lakdart
Kevin McDonald

Bodies Choreography by:
Isabelle Choiniere

The Site program is supported by the Henry Lea Hillman, Jr. Foundation. Oregon Contemporary is supported by the James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, the Oregon Arts Commission, the Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund and the Oregon Community Foundation. Oregon Contemporary also receives support from the Oregon Arts Commission, a state agency funded by the State of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts. Other businesses and individuals provide additional support.

Venue: Oregon Contemporary
On View: January 27 – March 12, 2023
Photos by Mario Gallucci