artist statement
As a Tasmanian artist living on the opposite side of the world, in a time zone that fluctuates between 15 and 17 hours in the past, my life is ruled by spatial and temporal distance. Technology allows for connection despite separation; I can dislocate from my physical existence and project myself into the virtual ether. But what is lost in translation when we communicate digitally? And what is gained? Through sculpture, performance, images and video, my work explores the cyber non-space between intimacy and alienation, and the nuanced differences between our physical, metaphysical and virtual experiences. Fleeting as each virtual moment may be, the spidery constellation of traces left behind every virtual movement is permanent, inadvertently creating a painfully honest self-portrait as we reveal our deepest, darkest secrets online. Unseen and unfelt, but excruciatingly detailed, this portrait shapes what we see, think and do. Intangible, highly abstracted algorithms appeal to our sense of self by exploiting our weakest , most valuable data points, intensifying our most profitable characteristics and turning us into caricatures of ourselves. The day-to-day movements of our physical existence leave traces as well; our interactions with objects leave marks and contribute imperceptibly to their auras. The materiality of objects can affect us both physically and psychologically as well, in a process that is analogous to the data-based, market-driven digital identity feedback loop.
bio
Myf Mars is Australian artist currently based in Austin TX, who works in sculpture, video, sound, images, words, performance, virtual reality, augmented reality, web-based works and multimedia installation. They enjoy working with contact mics, green screens, Go Pros, YouTube, FaceTime, Google, sports, Jello and slug slime. They are a board member of MASS Gallery, assistant to the education co-ordinator at Landmarks, and creator and show-runner of Hotel Free TV. Exhibited in NYC, LA, Austin, Detroit, Toronto, Sydney and Hobart.