The charismatic Laura Kikauka claims her art making goes back as far as she
can remember, but her involvement with technology dates from 1981 when she
entered the Photo Electric Arts program at O.C.A. and she hasn't looked back
since. She continues to feed her obsession for electronics, computers &
interfacing, electronic circuit design, audio, video, holography, plastics,
welding, and mechanics by integrating these technologies into her work with
found/assembled objects/aromas.
Her magnum opus to date is the "The Funny Farm (Canada)", which embodies
a studio/laboratory, living space, workshops, theatrical wardrobe room, and
retreat for fellow artists. Laura is an incurable collector with a personal
vow to 'Never say no to a dumpster!' She has impacted "The Funny Farm" with
objects that she has acquired in her travels (and which travel to her) for
over 30 years, transforming the farm into a giant interactive installation:
the doors, carpets, and appliances are wired-up to activate various electronic
sculptures. Obscure consumer items and modified electronic objects are
juxtaposed to create many different environments such as: "The Love-Den",
"The Turquoise, Beige, & Flesh Parlor", "The KITCHen", "The Green Room",
"The Disco", "The Laboratory", "The Macramé Owl Nook", "The Robot Cellar",
and a sympathetic "White Room", which is simply white, for those who need
to recuperate from over-stimulation. She presently resides in Berlin at
the "Funny Farm East".
Tongue in cheek and bitter-sweet, her self-portrait "The Eternal Nanosecond" elevates the sentimentalization of one's own image to a new heights. The holographic image, captured in such a brief moment, is enshrined for all eternity. Bonded with steel and bathed in perfumed water it reminds one of some crying martyr.
Spanish Version.