Kelly Richardson’s deeply layered practice draws on narrative devices employed in science fiction and B-movie horror films as well as the traditions of nineteenth-century landscape painting. To create Twilight Avenger, Richardson filmed the main elements—a deer, a woodland interior, and a large tree—in separate locations. Over the course of months, she then combined and heavily manipulated the footage, adding fog, audio, a supplementary light source, and other elements. Richardson’s approach to creating works from multiple layers of reality stems from the ways in which we interface with current media culture. According to Richardson, within this framework “truth is difficult, if not impossible, to locate, it seems—the line between fantasy and reality becomes further and further obscured.” In this immersive presentation, a glowing green stag unexpectedly enters an otherwise tranquil scene. Is he the avenger referred to in the title of the work? If so, what is he here to avenge? Is he somehow magical, or has he been adversely affected by human activity?

Label from Menagerie: Animals on View, March 11–June 4, 2017