A garland may be defined as a wreath or a collection of brief literary sketches, and T.J. Wilcox’s show could be described as both. “Garlands” is an installation of twelve short, silent 16mm films, in color and black-and-white, projected simultaneously in looped segments onto three standing screens (all works 2003). Wilcox’s jewel-like vignettes are fashioned from found imagery, collaged animation, and his own footage, often complemented by pithy subtitles. The films quietly disclose themes of loss and wonderment; they’re fleeting chronicles that memorialize interwoven worlds of fact and fantasy. One tells the story of Ortino, the French bulldog who perished with the Romanovs at the start of the Russian Revolution. Another limns the eccentric funeral rites of the artist’s stepmother, whose ashes were scattered in a forest, a cemetery, and beside the Peter Pan monument in London’s Hyde Park. We’re also treated to an account of the history of beekeeping and an interpretation of the cultural significance of the wooden figurines from Japan known as Kokeshi dolls. Most compelling of all, and a testament of great magnitude and daring, is the tale of transgender rights activist Ara Tripp, who—bare-chested, breathing fire, and playing air guitar—once clambered to the top of an electric pylon and cut the power to a good chunk of Seattle to protest laws that prohibit women from going topless in public.
