Opening of Edge Effect by JJJJJerome Ellis

The Elizabeth River Project invites you to the opening reception of "Edge Effect," a unique exhibit exploring shorelines of the Elizabeth by Norfolk's JJJJJerome Ellis.

A multi-media artist who stutters, Ellis has exhibited from Venice to New York and was featured in the 2024 Whitney Biennial as well as 2024 Tate Modern and the 2023 Venice Biennial.

His wife, Luísa Black Ellis, is a poet, ecologist and our Director of Resilience. In a sense, the exhibit celebrates the intersection of their work. His photos explore wetlands as an "edge" between land and water ecosystems, similar to the way "the stutter restores a living shoreline between silence and speech," JJJJJerome says.

The evening will include a meet-and-greet with the artist, a brief talk about their inspiration and process, special poetry readings from Poet Laureate of Virginia (Emerita) Luisa A. Igloria from Dear Human at the Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States, and light refreshments.

Arrive early for an optional tour of the Ryan Resilience Lab at 4:00pm

All are welcome – Suggested minimum donation $10 per attendee to support a healthy Elizabeth River though not required in our commitment to providing equitable access to our river-related programming.

About JJJJJerome Ellis

JJJJJerome Ellis (any pronoun) is a disabled Grenadian-Jamaican-American artist, surfer, and person who stutters. The artist works across music, performance, writing, video, and photography.

Concepts that organize the artist’s practice include: unknowing, improvisation, inheritance, opacity, prayer, gap, contradiction, aporia, eternity, unpredictability, interruption, and silence. Ellis researches relationships among blackness, disabled speech, divinity, nature, sound, and time. The artist’s body of work includes: contemplative soundscapes using saxophone, flute, dulcimer, electronics, and vocals; scores for plays and podcasts; albums combining spoken word with ambient and jazz textures; theatrical explorations involving live music and storytelling; and music-video-poems that seek to transfigure archival documents.

JJJJJerome’s work has recently been presented by the Whitney Museum and National Sawdust (New York); Venice Biennale 2023; Haus der Kunst (Munich); Rewire Festival (The Hague); Schauspielhaus Zürich; Chrysler Hall (Norfolk, Virginia); MASS MoCA (North Adams, Massachusetts); the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); and Oklahoma Contemporary (Oklahoma City). They have received commissions from the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, The Shed, and REDCAT.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the natural wonders of the Elizabeth River through the eyes of JJJJJerome Ellis. We look forward to seeing you there!

Special thanks to Bernstein's Gallery and Little Light Film Lab

Part of The Ryan Resilience Series
Made Possible by Virginia Natural Gas