An interdisciplinary artist, Erica Lord (Inupiaq/Athabaskan, b. 1978) creates challenging, conceptual work which addresses themes of ethnicity, and gender roles, as well as memory and the idea of home. For Off the Map she created a site-specific installation, Binary Selves, which incorporates a video self-portrait and the looping landscape of her father’s Alaskan village, Nenana, seen through the artist’s eyes as she leaves town over and over again.
“In my work I create an image of my world. I invite and pull viewers into the imaginary space where I am allowed to be all selves at once; it is an invitation for the viewer to unravel the illusion of one true voice, one self, or one home.”
—Erica Lord, 2006
Video stills from Binary Selves, 2007
Digital video and mixed media