The term Chimera has had a long and rich history dating back to Greek mythology with the most famous definition defined by Homer in the Odyssey where he describes it as “a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire.”
Holy Cow Television, is comprised of two skinned TV units, one of which is an integrated TV/VCR combo unit. Both TV units rest on a bare wood skeleton frame. A small plastic cow sits in front of the first TV, and its projected double can be seen on the second TV set just behind it.
‘Untitled (aka Leonard)’ was the first Hybrid Sculptural Object, conceived for a series entitled ‘The Limits of Control’ (2009), followed by three other Objects entitled, ‘Untitled (aka Marta’), ‘Holy Cow Television’, and ‘Presence’.
Untitled (a.k.a. Marta) was developed in relationship to Untitled (a.k.a. Leonard). Each of these Hybrid Sculptural Objects were meant to interact with each other through the syncopated clicking and clanking sounds emitting from their speakers.
Presence is the forth and final work in the ‘Limits of Control’ series (2009), and part of the Obscure Objects of Desire and the Rise of the Technological Chimera installation at AXENEO7 (2010).
The primary intent of using low-fi technology in my previous Hybrid Sculptural Objects (part of the ‘The Obscure Objects of Desire’ installation) was to create a non-confrontational and accessible entry point in which to engage with the visitor/participant in a critical discourse regarding technology’s ubiquitous intervention and role in society.
In photography, we see nothing. Only the lens ‘sees’ things. But the lens is hidden. It is not the Other, which catches the photographer’s eye, but rather what’s left of the Other when the photographer is absent (quand lui n’est pas la)” (Baudrillard.)*
TThe ‘collapse’ of memory I use as a metaphor for the collapse of the certainties of the past by a media that can paradoxically create and recreate an apparently certain past through their command of visual images, which are both part of the landscape of modern life and the very essence of human memory. (A. Hoskins)
What does it mean to be Canadian? There does not seem to exist one absolute criteria that could easily define this nationalistic sentiment. One may inquire into the social, political and historical context of a country; the defining attributes of its people; the significant contributions of its leaders