MICHELLE HANDELMAN | THE HENRY ART GALLERY | JULY 11 - OCT 11, 2015

Irma Vep, The Last BreathJuly 11 – October 11, 2015 The Henry Art Gallery University of Washington 15th Ave. NE & NE 41st St. Seattle, Washington 98105 The Henry presents the West Coat premiere of the multichannel video installation Irma Vep, The Last Breath (2013) by Michelle Handelman. Irma Vep – an anagram for vampire – is the lead female character of Les Vampires (1915, dir. Louis Feuillade, 1915 – 16), a French silent, serial film about a gang of thieves that terrorizes the upper class of Parisian society. In Handelman’s contemporary reconsideration of Feuillade’s classic, the legacy of screen criminal Irma Vep comes alive in the body of transgender artist and performer Zackary Drucker (Transparent). A non-linear narrative and psychological portrait unfolds as Irma Vep exchanges dialogue with her therapist and encounters the real-life actress who played her, Musidora, in the form of drag icon Flawless Sabrina (The Queen). Starkly illuminated projections and a dramatic audio score envelop viewers in a story of queer identity, criminal anxiety, and a life within the shadows of society. Irma Vep, The Last Breath features a score by Quentin Chiappetta (Christian Marclay's The Clock) and costumes by Garo Sparo and award- winning fashion collective threeASFOUR. This marks the 100-year anniversary of Les Vampires,and in celebration the Henry will host a series of screenings and talks, ranging from a profile of the film’s female lead, Musidora, to the cultural history of the catsuit. Interrupted Dialogues Series July – October, 2015: Vicki Callahan with Les Vampires (episodes 3 & 6) July 24, 2015, 6-8:30pm - Jennifer Bean with Les Vampires (episodes 8 & 10) July 31, 2015, 6-8:30pm Michael McCann with To Catch A Thief August 14, 2015, 8:30-11pm - Jessica Burstein with Irma Vep October 8, 2015, 6-8:30pm Irma Vep, The Last Breath – Cast & Crew Director: Michelle Handelman; Cinematographer: Ed David; Composer: Quentin Chiappetta; Editor: Michelle Handelman; Costume Designer: Garo Sparo and threeASFOUR; Makeup Designer: Michael Gwaltney; Production Designers: Michelle Handelman, Nadja Verena Marcin; Choreographer: Tori Sparks; Still Photographer: Laure Leber; Production Manager: Dominic Cloutier; Performers: Irma Vep: Zackary Drucker; Musidora: Jack Doroshow a.k.a. Flawless Sabrina; Therapist: MIchelle Handelman; Rooftop Irma Veps: A.K. Burns, Zackary Drucker, Marti Domination, Tori Sparks. Michelle Handelman is a Brooklyn-based artist who has exhibited and screened her work internationally. She has had solo shows at the Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing (2014); Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin, Texas (2011); and Participant, Inc., New York (2009). She was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for research toward Irma Vep, The Last Breath and has received grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and Art Matters. She is an associate Professor in the Film and Media department at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.