Picket Fence Factory 49 August '11

Acrylic and graphite on canvas

notations : factory 49 August '11

"Wavelength" was a piece I installed in 2001 at Sculpture by the Sea. It was a cubic structure 3m x 3m x 3m with cords supporting weighted plates (recycled offset printing plates). The weights drummed against the plates in the wind, making a constant murmur which rose to quite a loud sound as the wind got stronger. The piece was about that moment when a swimmer in the surf has to decide whether to go with the wave as it breaks or dive through it.

Notations
an installed construction
Barbara Halnan
at Factory 49
Opening Wednesday August 24 6 - 8 pm

In this work Halnan is exploring the kinetic qualites brought about by layering elements which interact
with one another creating visual disturbance. This work is revisiting concepts and materials she employed in the making of large scale site specific ephemeral works in the years 1995 - 2001.


Factory 49 Showroom is open every Thurs to Sat, 1 - 6pm
49 Shepherd St, Marrickville, Sydney 2204

model for Notations factory 49 August '11

notations : factory 49 August '11

In this work Halnan is revisiting concepts and materials she was exploring in the making of quite large scale ephemeral works in the years 1995 - 2001. She defined these works (Books I - III, Dumbbell, Wavelength etc.) as "installed constructions" as they were fabricated within the constraints of certain particular spaces or environments, and relied to a large extent on these environments for their form. To this extent they were site specific in much the same way this present work is dependent on this particular space for its existence. They were also, for the most part, constructed in such a way that the viewer was able to move around or through the work, thereby creating a more intimate relationship with the work than is usual with more formal object sculpture.
The kinetic quality of these works was an essential element in their construction. Disturbance created by shifting relationships between layers made for visual excitement, even irritation, a quality which has also been one of the motivations within Halnan's painting practice over the past few years. In both two and three dimensional work she uses visual rhythms which interact with one another in much the same way in which harmonics work in musical composition. Dissonance is as important as assonance.