Smokescreen
Marie Sivak

GALLERY II

September 6 - September 30, 2012

In Smokescreen Marie Sivak explores the use of language as a form of psychological warfare. In Sivak’s striking works of meticulously carved stone, the use of language as a smoke screen to obscure intention finds an additional layer of meaning. Sivak embeds video imagery into her stone objects, which become specters of human dramas. Vicious represents a scattered pile of odd sized envelopes carved from limestone, marble, and travertine. At the center of the pile there is a video projection. After a moment one realizes that the video is projecting from inside the pile, through the clouded atmosphere of the stone; the surface of the sculpture becoming a kind of smoky screen. A woman’s hands manipulate some white lettering, pushing it about like game pieces. The text in the projection isn’t coherent but instead raises questions about the transparency of language, the significance of the handmade, and technology’s role in communication.

View the full Press Release here.