David Ernst was born in 1948 with Cerebral Palsy, at a time when institutionalization was the prescribed recommendation. Rather than listen to the doctors, Elizabeth’s parents sent all three children to a private school in Buffalo, where his sisters functioned as his protectors – a role they still play today. Having a special-needs brother has been the single most important experience in Elizabeth’s life, and is the inspiration behind her ongoing body of work, The G.E. Circus – a cast of character she sculpts from clay, paper mache and metal, which are then photographed in constructed environments – giving voice to those often considered abnormal or other.

In her newest pieces, Ernst continues to create characters that tackle the many issues of difference, along with the affects of aging on the mind and body, which can be seen in the arthritic fingers and glazed eyes of the piano player. Whether real or imagined, Elizabeth Ernst creates a world that relies on disbelief and suspended reality, peppered with absolute truths.