Hum is a kinetic installation featuring six ceiling fans, each with one mounted speaker and audio playback equipment. Sound is activated with a movement-activated switch when a fan starts spinning. The sound consists of two simple, hummed melodies. Each two-minute recording endlessly loops while the fan spins – six fans spinning six melodies to create a chorus. The spinning speakers give the audio a tremolo effect (like the spinning speakers of the Hammond organ) which varies based on the fan’s speed. Each fan is moving in the same pattern (controlled by a computer), but the staggered start time of each fan results in an ever-changing pattern.
Exhibition History: 2010 Electric Eclectic Festival (Meaford, Canada); 2005 Toronto Convention Centre (in conjunction with Toronto International Art Fair, Canada); 2003 York Quay Gallery (Toronto, Canada)
Press: “Marla Hlady Part 1.” YouTube, uploaded by CDNartists, 3 November, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TnsMB3cugY.
