Chelsea Friedman’s fascination with puppetry was awakened in early 2000 at the University of Oregon. Initially a painting student, she was intrigued by the visual possibilities opened up by puppetry’s inherent motion. Chelsea’s intention in using mobile creations is to free the imaginations of both the puppet controller and the viewer, allowing exploration into other worlds and dimensions of reality. Her shadow boxes and bell jars collage nature and ephemera together to provide prolonged glimpses into the forms of these mindscapes. Chelsea is a multi-talented modern and yet also old world artist whose innovative fusion of video art, puppetry, sound, technology, and painting transports audiences into mesmerizing, otherworldly realms.
Chelsea aspires to use this ancient form of theater and storytelling to create archetypal characters of the human drama. Over the span of 22 years, Chelsea’s experimental Pareidolia Puppet Theater has performed 9 productions on the Pacific West Coast and in Europe. Some of these took place in remote forest settings at various electronic music festivals. Chelsea resides in Oakland California.