Phenomena Project
Social Progress Through Contemporary Art
Kara L. Rooney

Language is something none of us can avoid. Awareness regarding its pitfalls, beauty, strengths and weaknesses can doubtlessly open new windows into human consciousness and understanding, revelations which, in a society that finds itself increasingly dependent on the compaction of image and text, are extremely pressing in our current moment. The visual embodiment of language’s inherent blindspots, created as a result of our flawed transmissions, is at the core of my conceptual practice. I am interested in the study of oral methodologies and the written word as a means of gaining deeper insight into how we communicate with each other—how we formulate identity (or hide it)—as well as to how our sense of collective consciousness has shifted within contemporary society, one especially marked by technological drives and other isolationary models. 

My artistic practice is positioned as an ongoing, research-based visual experiment consisting of two and three-dimensional work in addition to site-specific installations incorporating digital video, sculpture, sound and performance. As a result, my most recent work has focused on the creation of interactive environments and objects that immersively engage the viewer by means of a combination of visual and sensory data. Its aim is to highlight the slippage between auditory cues and literal readings as well as to offer a physical meditation on how we build and break down our often competing modes of thought and their residual structures—that dialectical and warring relationship between the rational and emotional mind.