Erik Waterkotte’s multi-media work explores themes of popular culture, myth, and fantasy. Combining alternative printmaking techniques with digital media, he creates mesmerizing installations that transform traditional gallery spaces through the application of handmade wall coverings and video projections. Layering a wide array of appropriated imagery, Waterkotte’s immersive experiences blur the boundaries of beauty and terror, representation and abstraction. During his residency Waterkotte will investigate the history of McColl Center’s distinctive Neo-Gothic architecture. Through documentation and interviews, he will develop new work that explores the structure’s function as a former church to a present-day contemporary nexus of creativity and community engagement.
Erik Waterkotte currently serves as Assistant Professor of Print Media with UNC Charlotte’s Department of Art + Art History. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alberta, Canada in 2005 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001 from Illinois State University.