Official Artist Bio
Alexandria Jarvis is an analog projection artist, who creates expanded cinema work to invite dialectic insight and communal presence through hybridized symbols.
Leveraging a decade of commercial practice and an MFA in graphic design, Alexandria creates analog “projection collages”, stop-motion loops, illustrated symbols, film vignettes. She also organizes communal “Slide Parties” and “Projection Jams”.
Fusing her academic background as a design thinker, method actor, and professional career in Manhattan’s innovation agencies, she blends sensibilities of play and embodiment into her practice.
She was recently an Elf School of the Arts resident and has exhibited with Black Mountain College Museum and Art Center, Jengos Playhouse, and hosted workshops at Super G Print Labs and Cape Fear Makers Guild.
➔ Curriculm Vitae
➔ Artist Statement
Much Funner Bio...
Hey, 👋 My name’s Alexandria Jarvis (or zanda for short). I’m an analog 📽️ projection artist using 🎞️ cameraless image-making to 🔎 explore graphic symbols & bring people✨ together 🌀in real⏳time &📍space.
Aside from being a 🎭 method-acting dropout (thankyou- hold your applause) I’m also an expert at high-fives, a sister of twins 👯♀️, and a 🏄🏻♀️ beginner surfer who does🕺improv. But I didn’t always live this glamorous lifestyle! 😎...
After making a career in brand innovation in Manhattan my love for slide projectors was ignited 🔥 after finding an abandoned Sawyer’s✦Rotomatic by my apartment on mean streets of🗽Alphabet City. Since then, I’ve walked a meandering path through 🐢stop-motion, plus almost 🎓going back to school for animation (accepted for an MFA at Cal Arts!). In the end (for now) I’ve...unexpectedly landed myself in a sleepy 🏖️beachtown near (said) twin 💛 sisters. (Mom’s here too--- Hi 💘Mom!)
Over the years I’ve been working to fuse my insane design smarts 🤓 with various 🎨direct-animation techniques. Now— 🤪15 projectors later— I’m living it up... hauling my gear 🚙 cross the great state of North Carolina! (For reals- you should see my production kit.)
This Spring I was invited to exhibit my work at the historic campus of ⛰️Black Mountain College. Last summer I was a resident at the 🍄Elf School of the Arts in Hayesville, NC. I’ve also shown my work at independent cinema house 🎟️ Jengos Playhouse, and hosted workshops at various locations including Durham’s 📖Super G Print Lab, and the local ⚙️Cape Fear Makers Guild. And when I’m not doing that, you can find me thrifting more VHS or 📸 snapping pics of sexy 🪁 kites, good friends, and 🪦 cold tombstones.
In my corporate work life (which, let’s face... 💼 is a lot of the time) I’ve worked for the past decade as visual designer and 💡brand strategist. Currently, I act as Head of Storytelling 💬 for an NYC-based boutique brand research agency. In the past I worked on various 🍎 NYC design teams such as ?What If! Innovation Partners, Sylvain, Gemic (on contract) and for Further & Further (developing their brand design & comms).
- Alexandria (aka ‘zanda’) 👋 👁️👄👁️