strung: Hickman vs Grigg
Sarah Minney
June 7 - July 1 2000

Sarah Minney is an installation artist from Adelaide, South Australia. Her sound work strung: Hickman vs. Grigg first premiered at The Experimental Art Foundation in Adelaide, and we are pleased to be able to bring Minney to New Zealand to present this work at The Physics Room.

strung: Hickman vs Grigg is a continuation of Minney's research into the creation and representation of desire, where the viewer is removed from their historically passive role and becomes an active 'player' in the work, triggering a host of sensual and personal memories.

Two speakers face off across the expanse of the gallery, and the audience is surrounded by the sounds of squeaking sneakers, deep grunts, and rackets smacking tennis balls. The invisible ball can almost be watched as it moves from one speaker, to the other, and back again, dwarfing the physical presence of the work.

As the spectator moves around the gallery space, he or she takes on the various roles of player, umpire or even net. In this way the audience is removed from their historically passive role and becomes an integral and active part of the installation. The audience in a sense completes the work, filling in the empty spaces. By engaging the audience in such a strong way Minney triggers a host of sensual responses and individual memories.

Stimulating memory is an aim in many of Minney’s works and she often uses subliminal sensory symbols to do this. The aural medium of this work enhances Minney’s ability to draw in her audience and trigger memory. The looped sounds of strung: Hickmanvs Grigg cannot be avoided while within the gallery, and their relentless continuation means audience responses can change over time.

The installation is also accompanied by the performance speaks nicely which will be held at The Physics Room on Friday 9th June, at 6pm.

The Physics Room would like to thank Redd Acoustics for their assistance with this project.

Mixed doubles
The Press, 2000 June 28, p. 42
Ussher, Robyn.
Exhibitions by Sarah Minney and John Fairclough at Physics Room; Lauren Winstone, Rebecca Waldron and Pip Robertson at High Street Project.

Total_World_View & strung Mickman vs Grigg
PRESTO', issue 25
Andrew Paul Wood