Guild Hall in East Hampton presents Community Artists-in-Residence, Brenna Leaver, Devon Leaver, and Julian Alvarez with an installation of their project, “Apex Ape,” to be presented on Thursday, September 30, from 7 to 9 PM.
The film “Apex Ape” was created as part of Guild Hall’s 2021 Community Artist-in-Residence program and will be shown as a multi-channel video installation in the Minikes Garden, allowing the public to enter the film at any time throughout the evening.
“Apex Ape” is an experimental film by Brenna Leaver, Devon Leaver, and Julian Alvarez, featuring an original creature that explores the changing American image through the lens of local legend. Inspired by interviews with East End residents and video archives from LTV, “Apex Ape” examines societal decay through impressionistic cinematography, treating the familiar landscape as a living organism. As viewers are confronted with the husks of the past, they may even catch sight of the illusive Ape, a cryptid-inspired manifestation of those left behind in a rapidly changing habitat.
“Apex Ape is a visual love letter to those left behind in our rapidly changing environment,” said writer/producer/composer Devon Leaver. “Having grown up out east experiencing the transformation firsthand, we wanted to enhance the feeling of uncomfortable nostalgia that locals encounter every day. Guild Hall’s Community Artist-in-Residence program gave us the ability to explore these feelings through the creation of a new creature, and an experimental short film. The exhibition signifies a collaboration between the best of our local artists and institutions, including archival material from LTV, original choreography by Anita Boyer of Our Fabulous Variety Show, and the Ape played by the fabulous Robert Kohnken. We are so excited to share the culmination of this residency with our community, and encourage curious minds to experience the mystery of Apex Ape.”