Dana Levy
Israeli
The Wake, 2011
Duration: 5:03 minutes
Courtesy of Video Data Bank, www.vdb.org, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Dana Levy: The Wake

November 1, 2022 - December 30, 2022

Security Credit Union Gallery

The Wake was filmed at the Invertebrate Zoology department of the Carnegie Natural History Museum in Pittsburgh. In the department there are old cabinets full of categorized butterfly specimens, neatly ordered in drawers. According to the artist, Dana Levy, “ I released 100 live butterflies [into the space] that flew among the dead specimens. The result is as if these dead specimens have now come to life. The work explores themes such as resurrection, life/death, release from captivity to freedom, and the transition from sleep to new consciousness. Leaving behind old memories and ideas to explore new ones. Conveying hope for a new discovered freedom.”

Dana Levy was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and lives and works in New York City. Her work includes cinema, video installations, and photography. Levy earned her Mast of Arts in Electronic Imaging at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art  & Design in Dundee, Scotland and her Bachelor of Arts from University of the Arts London: Camberwell College of Arts.