UNDER THE HIGHLANDS :: Cristina Molina & Jonathan Traviesa
JANUARY 14 - FEBRUARY 13, 2022 (Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am-2pm; Fridays by appointment - text 813-340-9056)
MEMBERS COCKTAIL HOUR: FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 @ 6-7PM (BECOME A MEMBER)
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 @ 7-9PM
4220 N. FLORIDA AVE.
Tempus Projects is pleased to present Under the Highlands, a photo-based exhibition by Artists-in-Residence Cristina Molina and Jonathan Traviesa that concentrates on the geologic phenomena of the Lake Wales Ridge. Historically known as the highest elevation in Florida, this landmass has maintained some of the rarest plant specimens on the planet due to its arid landscape and proximity to the sea. Set in the very near future, the installation proposes a time when Florida is nearly under water except for the Highlands. In times of environmental shipwreck, the artists imagine this layered topography as the last inhabitable plane, a scorched island where ancient species continue to thrive and evidence of the past are inscribed in limestone.
Florida natives Cristina Molina and Jonathan Traviesa are lens-based artists who live in New Orleans and often collaborate on exhibitions about disappearing landscapes. Their ongoing site-specific exhibition Sad Tropics focuses on the psychological landscape of paradise, the tropics, and more specifically—the mythology of Florida. Sad Tropics has been exhibited at The Front in New Orleans, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Tempus Projects, The Polk Museum in Lakeland, FL, and was listed by publications Burnaway and Art in America as one of the top exhibitions of the year in 2016. Work from Sad Tropics has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and included in publications such as CAA’s New Media Caucus, South of the South, and Lens Scratch.
Molina and Traviesa work as art professors at Tulane University and Southeastern Louisiana University, respectively. Currently their artwork focuses on the history of the Earth’s phenomena as inscribed by geologic material such as limestone and ancient botanical species.
BFF and Sustainer Container members are invited to a meet-and-greet cocktail hour with the artists on Friday, January 7, 2022 (Upgrade your membership!). Tempus Projects is located at 4220 N. Florida Ave. Masks required in the gallery, please.
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Tempus Projects is dedicated to nurturing established and emerging local, national, and international artists through exhibitions, collaborations, residencies, and events. Our non-profit organization promotes artists working in all media, and develops, organizes, and hosts exhibitions that engage the Tampa Bay community through the arts.
Our vision is to foster a vibrant and critical arts nexus that connects grassroots efforts to an international arts dialogue through innovative, equitable programming. Tempus Projects is committed to inclusion, accessibility, collaboration, innovation, and integrity.
