There is no simple way to describe the way in which Sharon Hayes time travels.

Yet somehow she is able to consistently create self-contained and transient spaces in
which the present world is confronted with issues of both the past and future
simultaneously. Whether reciting an open letter to a lover during war-time on the
intersection of 6th Ave & 24th St in New York city (Everything Else Has Failed! Dont You
Think Its Time for Love?, 2007), or acting as a sole protestor holding anachronistic
slogans and signs on street corners across the globe (In the Near Future, 2008), Sharon
Hayes practice continually explores the performative nature and power that speech can
have in both public and private realms through the guises of past figures and minority
groups; ones that are still present in either the same or modified form within todays
cultural landscape. Her work exists atop a soapbox, amidst the crossroads of history,
protest, personal identity and love; proving that her practice is a dynamic exploration of
ever changing representational strategies that further advance performative and relational
art, without relying on the confines of institution.

The ears are the only orifice that cant be closed

Speaking aesthetically, her art seems rather quiet. Streamlined videos and audio
recordings dominate the majority of her work, alongside performance stills and brief,
poetic statements. In actuality it seems to serve as a feature that delicately balances her
focus on the power that language and speech holds. She works with both the spoken and
written word, often times simultaneously to reinforce and emphasize this power. In fact,
the majority of her work exists merely as evidence of performances and events, only
strengthening her ability to collapse temporal movements and anachronistic voices in

quasi-political spheres. Her work stretches beyond the confines of the gallery and bleeds
into an anthropological field study as she relies heavily on subtle reactions from
unsuspecting passers-by-turned-audience-members as recitations reach their ears, or signs
of protest are read. It is through this interaction that her work is given life. Whether or not
pedestrians stop and stare, interact with her or simply pass by, they are all still active
members. As she declares boldly to a nondescript lover in Everything Else Has Failed!
Dont You Think Its Time for Love? the ears are the only orifice that cant be closed
explaining to her lover the reasoning for taking this letter to the streets, and
simultaneously explaining her actions to her audience. It is through this very delicate but
direct confrontation that her actions exist as art. Part social practice, part relational
aesthetics, Hayes has developed a unique method for pushing the boundaries of
conceptual and performance art outside of the institutional context. She forces the world
around her to become her audience by default, incorporating either their indifference or
interaction as part of the subject matter as she explores the role and intimacy of speech.
Hayes inserts a sense of scientific method in this specific piece, conjuring questions about
how the erotics of public and private speak relate to others, and how relationships are
formed because of this.
Creating something that is concrete or tangible is never the main focus of her
practice, as her current body of work borderlines different areas of study, blending
together oratory execution, archaeology, anthropology and theatre in a casual walk across
the tightrope of public and private speech. There exist multiple thematic layers in her
pieces that continually re-contextualize themselves during every reiteration and
installation. The insertion of unresolved subject matter creates a constant state of unrest,

allowing for different interpretations during each viewing based on the current state of
U.S. affairs.