SHARON HAYES

Sharon Hayes mines the power of the spoken word in works ranging from entirely personal address to agitation on urgent social issues. By using individual voices she intentionally prevents us from relating to preconceived perspectives, be they universal or specific. In her performances, photographs and sound and video pieces, she relocates private speech to the public sphere. A central aspect of her work is the relationship between language, history, and politics.

“Echo” explores the idea of the exhibition as an echo chamber, where Hayes lets voices and materials reverberate between different historic events. It also references a feminist interpretation of the classical myth of Echo, the nymph who is cursed for her conversational skills. She is condemned to only repeat fragments said by others, sounds devoid of meaning.