Strand installation at 4A Members Exhibition 2011

Gallery 4A Annual Members Show 2011, exhibition invitation

The 4A Annual Members' Exhibition
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
181-187 Hay Street, Haymarket, Sydney
15 - 23 December 2011


Each year 4A opens its doors and makes it's walls available to 4A members during the Annual Members' Exhibition. It's a way to thank members and for them to meet and share their creative talents with those who are part of the Asian-Australian cultural discussion.

4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art is Australia's peak national body for contemporary Asian and Australian art and culture. 4A believes that Asian cultural thinking will have an important impact in the future. We are passionate about creating opportunities for artists and facilitating networks between Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region.


Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, nylon synthetic hair extensions,  electric cord, light bulb, and plinth. Dimensions variable. Detail view of top of work as installed at Gallery 4A

Kath Fries, Strand, 2011, nylon synthetic hair extensions, electrical cord, light bulb and plinth, dimensions variable. Detail view of bottom of work as installed at Gallery 4A.
"Strand is a tangled rope of apparently discarded hair ending in an illuminated light bulb. Human hair provokes polarized responses, in some circumstances it is a beautifying adornment, signalling seduction, but when shed becomes a revolting abject substance tangled in a bathroom drain. In Strand, nylon synthetic hair extensions bind an electrical current, forming a poetic metaphor about intimate connections between people. Like a lover's lock of hair traditionally kept as a memento, or the sense of intimacy (or repulsion), evoked when finding a strand of someone else’s hair on one's skin or clothing. Strand was created whilst artist-in-residence at The Lock-Up Newcastle in April 2011The transience of existence and fragility of life are recurring themes throughout my art practice. My work explores materiality, spatiality and archetypical narratives by marking a personal immediate engagement with time, place and physicality. I use domestic materials and natural elements to create site-sensitive installations and soft sculptures linking present experience to boarder considerations of humanity, history and future continuation."

Kath Fries, Strand Artist Statement, December 2011