A PROFILE ON ARTIST ELIZA FERNAND
BY COLLEEN O'DOHERTY
This is a mini-profile of Eliza Fernand (she/they), a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist. She/they have been in Chicago since January 2022, recently joining a session of Queer Writers Club in April. The interview was conducted by Colleen O’Doherty, a Chicago Filmmakers board member.
I met Eliza at her art studio, which reflects the variety of talents and interests she ended up discussing with me. On the wall are posters from some of her projects, such as a hotline where you can listen to erotic, nature-based audio. There are sculptures, some of which have been featured in Eliza’s short films. In the course of our conversation, she talked about interest in everything from costuming to crafts to making films specifically for planetariums.
I asked her, “What got you into filmmaking?”
She explained that she went to art school for sculpture. “When I was there, I took some video classes.” As part of those classes, she learned how to use programs like Final Cut Pro and The Video LunchBox (a stop motion frame grabber and playback that was designed for teaching animation; used as well for a pencil test or reference test device by the professional animator). “I was interested in video work when I was in college. It’s always been some part of my practice….mostly animation and just experimental things like that.” Then she explained that she started to make more videos during her grad school program. “I’ve always worked interdisciplinary. I use the one [medium] that feels right for a given project.”
One great example is The Hotline Project, which is a hotline you can call, but it is also a zine and available online. She then made commercials for the hotline which aired on public access. She said she loves to build on an idea.
Her filmmaking is also, in some ways, a way to publish her prose. She talked about how she wanted to publish some essays and other pieces but didn’t know where. So she developed a way of making videos that allowed a kind of self-publishing, “Essay film”. Sometimes the voiceover is the writing; visuals pair with it. “I feel a lot of freedom to move between worlds,” she said, noting that Chicago allows for artists to spread their wings.“ In Chicago, artists can be really interdisciplinary. You can be making hats, and you have a band, and you’re a painter. You can have these multiple creative outlets. In Chicago, it’s comfortable to be fluid. People have been really welcoming.”
Next, I asked what projects she’s currently excited about or working on. Her reply was immediate,“I am very excited about the reboot of Eating Sharp Fruit.” ESF is a short film variety show that will be airing on CAN TV June 7, Wednesdays at 11pm. There will be a 12-week run of season 1. Season 1 was her creation, but she is hoping to make Season 2 a space for other Chicago-based artists. There is an open call for season 2, which will start August 30th. Season 2 will be two sets of six episodes that will run until Thanksgiving. She’d like like all the contributors to be Chicago-based, which is in the spirit of public television.
“I wanted to open up the idea of the variety show, and to have it be all folks from Chicago. I want to take all submissions. Once I get 150 minutes, that’s the season. I get to do that kind of fun collaging of all the work. But I’m not going to turn anyone away. I’d love for it to be really experimental. Even if someone only has sound and a black screen. I’m excited to make more open spaces for people.”
Then we discussed goals she has for herself as an artist. “I’ve had this goal for a while to make my own planetarium show.” (Fulldome films are movies made for a hemispherical space like a planetarium. See: https://www.fddb.org/fulldome/) She has a fulldome piece called “Aqueous Dissolve”, which is interactive and can include a live performer. There’s a narrator onscreen who asks the audience to repeat words in unison and there are prompts for the audience to do things like “make watery sounds with your mouth”, and it includes a guided meditation. “I would like to start a Full Dome video club.” She shared that when she lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she worked with a technician at the local planetarium that allowed people to make work and put video on the dome. “It’s kind of a great space to try things out. Full-dome video is a really new medium. It didn’t exist until 20 years ago. I love the idea of opening it up to more people.”
Finally, I asked her about hopes and goals for the larger Chicago filmmaking scene. She made sure to say she hasn’t been in Chicago that long. She did say she’d love to get a Full-Dome Clube going where people can make those types of films. She also brough up the fact the Nightingale Theater closed, which was a space where a lot of people could curate, and it was also a place where people could live and it had a residency. “For Chicago to have more spaces like that. My fear is there are less and less of them because of capitalism and land-use. I lived in communal spaces that were also artist warehouses. I would love to be involved in artist communities. I don’t want to speak to what Chicago needs, but Nightingale was a great space that recently closed. I think there needs to be more spaces like that so we can have film screenings in spaces that feel DIY and also validate people.”
“Another thing I would love to do is work on a crew to do a production. Whether I do props, costumes, etc, that’s something I’m seeking out is collaborators. I want that for me and for other people.”
Links to Eliza’s work:
Eating Sharp Fruit instagram: www.instagram.com/eating.sharp.fruit
Eating Sharp Fruit on Eliza’s Website
For Inquiries / Submissions email: eatingsharpfruit@gmail.com
Queer Writers Club is a project of Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, hosted by Colleen O’Doherty. This year’s Reeling takes place September 21-October 8. Stay tuned for more updates on programming, but in the meantime, check out the Reeling Pride Month Film Showcase, top of Chicago Magazine’s list of "Top 18 Ways to Celebrate Pride Month”.
