Deborah Aschheim

Elena Bajo

David Bowie

Monika Goetz

Elin Hansdottir

Marla Hlady

Emily Jacir

John Noestheden

Fahamu Pecou

Tomo Savic-Gecan

Katerina Seda

Emna Zghal

INSTALLATION

Marla Hlady (selected by Trong G. Nguyen), Waltzing Matilda
2001, Wigs, machines, wood cabinet, misc. electronics, stereo and speakers, music
Dimensions variable

STATEMENT
I make audio and kinetic based sculpture and sculptural installations. My work takes on varying forms and incorporates a variety of media including mechanics, electronics and audio components. Within this complex dynamic, material investigation is critical. My studio practice is characterized by the play of content, form, functionality and material, where material stands to mean as much what is heard as what is seen. I am interested in the relationships between the work, the space it occupies and all the multifarious possibilities inherent in a viewer (both a physical body and a social construction) interacting with the work in the space.

My sculptures and installations are insistently functional, whether through the repeated gestures of the kinetics or through the utilitarian objects referenced by the forms that support the audio and kinetics. Yet, at the same time my work is also without the "real" function we assume from the things they resemble -- a cluster of ceiling fans spin audio speakers instead of circulating air (as in Hum) or an over sized tea ball both contains and leaks sound instead of tea (as in Soundball #4).

Important too in my work, whether the work is an independent sculpture or a mixed media installation, is how the viewer activates or is invited to interact with it. This interaction can be literal, as in Soundball #4, where a button is pressed to activate an audio work, or it can be implied, as in Waltzing Matilda, where the empty space of the store suggests an empty dance floor, inviting the viewer to dance along with the wig machines.

BIO
Marla Hlady’s work ranges from site specific installations to sculpture, drawing and sound pieces. She has shown in both group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally including such places as The Power Plant Gallery (Toronto), Zabriskie Gallery (New York), Klink and Bank (Reykjavik, Iceland), The Nunnery (London, England). She is a member of the Flywheel and Peregrine Collectives. Hlady has had sound works commissioned by Art Metropole, Charles Street Video and Arraymusic Ensemble (a collaboration with Eric Chenaux, part of a CD published by MUSICWORKS, fall 2005).