November 5 – December 13, 2009
COMP OSE
Ellen Moffat
In COMP OSE, Saskatoon-based multimedia installation artist Ellen Moffat invites gallery visitors to interact, manipulate and play with two participatory new media works. vBox (2008) is a multi-track instrument of spatialized, vocal sounds that uses chance juxtaposition to suggest language; twicescore (2008) is a writing instrument that facilitates the production and projection of collaborative concrete poetry. Gallery visitors are involved in the compositional process as individuals or as collaborators, creating associative connections for sound and text through their participation in the works. Active listening and interpretation complete the partial scores as semantic meaning or as abstraction and rhythm.
By encouraging interactivity and inquiry, and providing possibilities for collectivity, Moffat seeks to establish new ways of engaging with art. Using perceptual tease, human-centred technology and multi-user interfaces in sound and text generation, COMP OSE raises questions of cognition, awareness and perception.
About the Artist
Ellen Moffat's production spans multimedia installations, public art and cultural work. Her ongoing exploration is relations of the individual and the collective, place and time. She has participated in national and international exhibitions and off-site events, including Eidola, Open Space, Victoria (2009); Night Trains, Salon Ba’stav, Tel Aviv (2008); Claybank Voices, Art Gallery of Swift Current (2006); Curb Appeal, Confederation Centre for the Arts, Charlottetown (2005); Future Cities, Art Gallery of Hamilton (2004); and Utopia Station, Arsenale, Venice Biennale (2003). Born in Toronto, she lives in Saskatoon.
