The Real Brian Wilson is a community-based project created to explore the idea of individuality as it relates to one’s name. It began in late 2015 with the launch of a website (TheRealBrianWilson.org) for the Brian Wilsons of the world to interact with and share their own personal story.
Through a six-month-long social media campaign, I solicited participation from strangers that had nothing in common other than all sharing the same name.
Through the submissions, I came across a young writer in Northern Ireland and invited him to be a more active participant.
The project was realized with an installation that encompasses a two-channel video presented with a series of artifacts including a series of handwritten letters between Brian Wilson and me. The multi-channel video presents a duality between an individual and a group of Brian Wilsons.
One video shows an annual Brian Wilson meeting in which Brian Wilsons of the world meet in Scotland in a sort of ‘self-help’ meeting typesetting.
The other video shows the lone experience of Brian Wilson in Northern Ireland who has stumbled across a radio broadcast of the Brian Wilson meeting. The lone Brian Wilson travels through the unique landscape of Northern Ireland, a country that has been struggling with it’s own identity since it’s inception.
The artifacts set up a narrative that enables the viewer to see into the project on another level, providing them with information regarding the “real” Brian Wilson as an active collaborator in the whole project.
Elizabeth Withstandley
Exhibition / Publications / Awards: UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS Exgirlfriend, Berlin Germany Govan Project Space, Glasgow, U.K. Valley of the Glens festival, Cushendall, Northern Ireland NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, NY SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 “Searching for the Miraculous” AC Institute, New York, New York “The Symphony of Names: No Man Is An Island” In-Sonora 11, Madrid, Spain Searching for the Miraculous” VisArts, Rockville, MD. 2018 “The Symphony of Names: No Man Is An Island” Winslow Garage, Los Angeles, CA. 2015 “You Can Not Be
Replaced” Dimensions Variable, Miami, FL. 2014 “From Far Away Across the Universe”
Artist statement: My work is rooted in conceptual art, taking the form of photographic series, film, video and installations that explore contemporary culture through a loose narrative structure. My projects result in site-specific installations. My studio practice involves research and testing that I use when creating my installations oftentimes developing pieces that all come together as a whole when installed. Recently my work has focused on multi-channel video/sound installations, thematically exploring identity and individuality. The works “You Can Not Be Replaced” , “The Real Brian Wilson”, “The Sympho¬ny of Names : No Man Is an Island” present a portrait of a person, a group of people or a specific culture. The installations often use music as a thematic back¬bone and integrate sound as a central element. I’m interested in leaving the viewer with questions relating to uniqueness while planting seeds about one’s place in the universe. The installations provide an immersive, layered experience for the viewer where their attention can shift around the space. In my work, I explore similar things, like names, people and experiences. The projects look at what the similarities and differences are and ask the viewer to think about the identity of the subject.