Sara Hughes
Crash
9 May - 3 June 2006
Sara Hughes has become known for her use of complex and optical patterns which relate to the technologically immersed world that we live in today. The work for Hughes’ Crash exhibition was developed in response to William Gibson’s novel Pattern Recognition. The heroine of the book, Cayce Pollard, lives in a world dominated by data transmission; from cyberspace chat rooms embroiled in finding the source of an illusive internet film, to her own pathological sensitivity to brand names. Her life is connected to the world via technology and she is caught up and carried along by a bombardment of digital information.
Hughes says of her this work, “It appears to pause or capture a split second of the endless data transmission that occurs in cyberspace. Resembling explosions or implosions of matter or information I aim to engage the viewer in a space that has accelerated beyond the horizon into a floating swarm of fragmented facets. The work utilizes an iterating format of squares and circles, yet there is a subversive nature to these grids that have been stretched and squeezed out of their formal constrains. They allude to multiplications and mutations of data that are spreading and replicating in an endless transmission on the planetary web of computer networks.”
This exhibition encompasses two major aspects of Hughes’ practice; a large scale installation work and a series of paintings. Both make use of the same imagery yet the site specific wall work is made from intricately cut commercial vinyl and the paintings are painted with a brush using a multitude of layers of acrylic paint. The two mediums mimic one another, prompting the viewer to look closely to see the subtle differences and consider relationships between painting and new technology.
Coinciding with this exhibition Hughes also launched her first ever produced series of screen-prints. Hughes has exhibited extensively in both Australia and New Zealand, with work held in many public and private collections. In 2005 Hughes was awarded with both the 2D Norseweart Award and the Paramount Prize of the Wallace Art Awards.