(Left) Hold that Thought

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Who made this sculpture?

Kelly Mark, a Toronto based multimedia artist. Mark represented Canada in 1998 at the Sydney Biennale and in 2006 at the Liverpool Biennale. She is a recipient of numerous Canada Council grants and received the prestigious KM Hunter Artist Award in 2002. 



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What ideas are being explored in this sculpture?

The artist imagined this New Media installation installed at a street intersection or a busy public area of the city, a hectic place where people might be encouraged to pause. This sign asks us to stop, slow down our minds, think and “hold the thought” even if for only a moment out of our busy day.  The temporal nature of this fleeting moment becomes a unique and personal experience for each viewer.

How was this sculpture made?

Kelly Mark comes up with the idea and design of the sculpture, her colleague, Orest Tataryn, then constructs the neon sign. Hold that Thought is a work in neon with programmed failure units. It was installed at the Sunset Community Centre by Thiessen Art Services, who had to install each word at a time. The letters are programmed to fail or sputter (flicker on and off) at random intervals.

How does this work connect with this artist’s other works?

This site specific work was first exhibited in the Nuit Blanche Festival in 2006 where it was installed on the front facade of the Church of the Redeemer at Bloor & Avenue Road in downtown Toronto. However, the artist works in a variety of media including: drawing, sculpture, photography, installation, sound, multiples, video & public interventions and is one of Canada’s leading female New Media artists. Mark created Horroridor in 2008, a 6-channel dvd installation utilizing footage from various genres including horror-thriller-sci/fi-action-drama-comedy. The installation examines Hollywood’s construction of human responses of fear, horror, pain, madness, rage and frustration. Both Horroridor and Hold That Thought, though created through different mediums, are examples of Mark’s focus on human thought, reactions, daily objects, and her own obsessions. The artist constantly strives to understand how we spend our time as human beings, our thought process and what we surround ourselves with. This is reflected in the materials she uses in her work; glass jars, salt, paper, video, paint, cutlery and even an engraved aluminum bar that Mark carried around in the back pocket of her jeans for one year as part of a 10 year series.

Mark’s influences and strong work aesthetic has enabled her to create varied projects and installations throughout North America and Europe.