ARTIST’S APPROACH
The space between fact and fiction, the role of technology, the control of media and its proliferation in public space all play out in installations and videos that Perry Bard has presented internationally. Her work is fueled by observations of her immediate environment and their interpretations in a global context. Her public video installations are site specific, addressing cultural history and memory, often involving local community groups in the production process. Bard also curates and has written for Afterimage Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism.
THE ARTWORK
Traffic
Video, 2005
TRAFFIC is a video illustrating a theme central to the work of Perry Bard: the space between truth and fiction.
Living in New York, one day Perry walked into a Soho boutique where the sales woman said “I see you have a Prada bag”. Perry said “I paid $20 for it on Canal Street”. The salesperson said that hers was real so they compared the bags. They were identical. So much for authenticity! At the intersection of Canal and Broadway, a mobile marketplace repeatedly pops up and disappears in sync with the strolling police patrol.
Status symbol knockoffs sold out of suitcases and black plastic bags control the chaos with as much authority as the cops. Perry Bard has spent years negotiating this intersection around the corner from her loft: TRAFFIC is the result of Perry standing for one week on the corner of Canal and Broadway, recording the illicit trade where speed and mobility are of the essence.
Curator : Joyce Yahouda
