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Benita Carr & Bill Orisich

Photographer Benita Carr and video artist Bill Orisich began collaborating on immersive video and sound installations in 2002. Their two channel video work Surface Tension won Best Experimental Short at the Downstream Video & Film Festival in 2003. Exploring themes surrounding motherhood and community, their surreal project there’s no place like … was included in the exhibit Groundstory: Tales from the Shade of South at the Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College in 2012. In 2013, their live performative moving sound project Horse Drawn Piano was selected for FLUX Night, a prestigious one-night art event held in the streets and alleyways of Atlanta’s Castleberry Hill district.

In 2016, their site-specific work When I Whistle… reimagined the history of the Swan House. Built in 1928 by cotton millionaires Edward and Emily Inman and now a public museum, the house represents the architectural and decorative tastes of Southern affluent citizens in the early twentieth century. The three-channel video installation with live performance explored ideas about time, memory and place and conjured an imaginary discourse with its original inhabitants, its furnishings and objects.

For over 30 years Bill has created film, videotapes, architectural & sculptural video installations, sound environments, flat panel video pieces, and commercial works for television broadcast and the web. Owner and president of Whoa Films, a video production and editing company headquartered in Decatur, GA, Orisich’s video installations have expanded into immersive environments that envelop the viewer in image, sound and performance.

Benita has been exhibiting her photography and video work since 1994. She taught photography at Georgia State University and Atlanta College of Art for over 13 years and is the recipient of many awards and grants. Since 2007, Benita has been working as a commercial/corporate video producer for clients such as Mercedes, Samsung, Coca-Cola, The High Museum, Southwest Airlines and many others. Her artwork has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums around the country including The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. and is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.