Mixed media, various dimensions: video, sculpture, photography, interactive electronics
The final exhibition in a trilogy of works about women during WWII, Relay was inspired by the use of radio technology and the role women played in the flow of information.
Wireless and related telegraphic systems formed the backbone of communications during the war. Not only did radio provide news broadcasts to millions of listeners, it also enabled essential coded information to move between the Allied forces from the battlefield to agents behind enemy lines and to military and diplomatic offices around the world.
Camp X, a top secret training facility for espionage located near Oshawa Ontario, housed an essential radio relay station called “Hydra,” named for the 3-wire technology used in the station aerials. Thousands of highly classified encrypted messages were sent from Washington to England via Camp X.
Relay was developed for a solo exhibition at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa in November 2008. The installation features five large-scale sculptures, two photographic works and two interactive audio and video works installed in three distinct spaces.
Produced with funding from the Social Sciences Research & Humanities Council, The Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council. Tower production design in collaboration with LevittGoodman Architects.
