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Elizabeth Ernst

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Elizabeth Ernst
(b. 1950, Buffalo, NY) is clearly interested in issues of visible difference—an interest with a deeply personal origin. Her mixed-media work, such as “The G. E. Circus,” is filled with half-human creatures and all manner of “freaks.” In it, Ernst tackles the complicated emotions of being the younger sister of a brother born in 1948 with cerebral palsy.
“Bird Lady” depicts a creature with the head of a white bird and the body of a woman in a white nightgown. The bird’s swan-like head has a long dark bill that rests heavily against the figure’s lap. It is very large in proportion to the body. All we can see of the body is a pair of slim arms that clutch at the fabric of the gown. The bird-woman is done in black and white, against a dark blue background.
Bird Lady
Hand-Painted Photograph, 21” x 18”
2002
“Elephant Man” shows a being with the large, round face of an elephant, but with human eyes and eyebrows. His trunk emerges from a large hole in the lower face. The face seems to be made of clay, but the trunk is made out of a hard object that resembles the neck of a wine bottle with cork stopper. Below the trunk are small, blunt white tusks. The photo is held by a perforated metal frame that underlines the mechanical aspect of the image. The main colors are shades of black, brown and gray.
The Elephant Man
Hand-Painted Photograph, 16” x 12”
1999
BIO
Elizabeth Ernst (b. 1950, Buffalo, NY) is clearly interested in issues of visible difference—an interest with a deeply personal origin. Her mixed-media work, such as “The G. E. Circus,” is filled with half-human creatures and all manner of “freaks.” In it, Ernst tackles the complicated emotions of being the younger sister of a brother born in 1948 with cerebral palsy. She grew up as his protector, witnessing his torment by other children and later his struggle to navigate the adult world. Their relationship, with the numerous issues it involves (love, guilt, remorse, fear, responsibility), is the backbone of the “Circus,” a handmade circus of characters who live in a fictitious world where they are the stars—where they are the norm.


 THE ART
“The Elephant Man” and “Bird Lady” are both part of “The G. E. Circus,” which combines Ernst’s skill at photographic storytelling with her love of sculpture. Some aspects are based on the considerable history of communities formed by disabled people within the shelter of the circus. Each circus figure is made out of oven-hardened clay, after which a “portrait” photograph is made of the character. The cast includes a juggler, acrobats, clowns, and strange human-like animals. Photographs are printed on sensitized linen paper, mounted to board, and finally hand-painted. Each “portrait” includes a brief “biography” giving us insight into their inner lives. In Ernst’s circus, animals control their handlers, freaks are the standard, and cages are obsolete.


Ernst’s relationship with disability has continued to evolve through her own experience of lupus, as well as from being in a long-term relationship with a person with a disability. Ernst’s empathy, humor, and rigorous lack of sentimentality arise from understanding disability from the inside.
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