Paula Hayes' installation LAND MIND creates an environment that exists at the intersection of landscape and the imagination. She has designed a magical atmosphere that combines lush tropical trees and foliage in unique planters; a huge, biomorphic shaped Aquarium that contains colorful saltwater fish and invertebrates in a coral reef environment; and a wall-mounted cocoon that encases fifteen-feet of juicy succulents. Hayes has made an aquatic garden and a living work of art that intimately connects people with nature, and illustrates her belief that "In my mind, the rigor of creating the
planting vehicles strengthens the message that the interior landscape is to be taken very seriously and cared for with precision. This is my ultimate goal."
The various components of the installation are interrelated on a number of levels and suggest numerous interpretations. The saltwater aquarium supports both animal and plant life and is designed to maintain a balanced ecosystem, while simultaneously the full-spectrum lighting and automated filtering system sustain the ongoing life process. The watering of potted plants and the feeding of the fish require a human intervention and refer to Hayes' concerns about nurturing, caring, and growth, relating to both natural and human circumstances. Conversely, the succulents housed in Slug are plants with fleshy leaves that are adapted to storing water.
As Hayes states: "Living art literally involves the attentive and continuous role of participants and caretakers in all aspects of the continuum of its manifestation and life; this reality is at its core a core that is performed by humans along any point in the
spectrum of gender. It is essential that there be an internal, collaborative maintenance of the life of the work so that it can exist as an artwork. Binary systems (such as owner/object) become irrelevant, while interrelatedness and continuously active and attentive devotion become essential."
390 Park Avenue * New York, New York 10022
Paula Hayes was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1958, and grew up on a farm in upstate New York. She studied at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York (B.S., 1987) and Parsons School of Design, New York (M.F.A., 1989). Hayes has created numerous private and public gardens and her work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio; Tang Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College; Salon 94, New York; and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York. The artist lives in New York City.
Richard D. Marshall, Curator
PAULA HAYES
LAND MIND, 2010-12
Consists of:
AQUARIUM, 2011
Custom fabricated, cast acrylic aquarium, 240-gallon capacity, with saltwater fish and saltwater aqua-scaping, 69 x 47 x 54.6 inches
Aquarium is set onto a wood platform, 24 x 82 x 88 inches, and surrounded by an organic shaped "Island" of tropical perennial plants in custom-designed planters that is encircled by a silver braided "Garden Necklace," overall dimensions approximately 20 x 30 ft.
Aquarium also includes a cast acrylic "Lighting Hood" containing 3 LED lamp units, hanging from a stainless steel suspension system, 79 x 42 x 37 inches.
The flooring under the Aquarium and covering a large area of the exhibition space is made with recycled rubber tiles
SLUG, 2010
Custom fabricated, cast acrylic, with full-spectrum lighting, and tropical planting, 32 x 24 x 180 inches
SILICONE PLANTERS, 2011
Custom fabricated, cast silicone rubber, planted with tropical trees; 2 planters in "Jules Verne" color, each 26 x 38 x 38 inches
DUMPLING PLANTERS, 2011
Custom fabricated EPDM rubber, planted with tropical trees; 15 planters in "Out of the Blue" color; 12 planters, each 20 x 36 x 36 inches and 3 planters, each 16 x 24 x 24 inches; and 5 black color planters, one 20 x 36 x 36 inches and 4 planters, each 16 x 24 x 24 inches
HEX and POND PLANTERS, 2011
Custom fabricated EPDM rubber, approximately 165 black planters of various sizes with tropical plants
LEVER HOUSE ART COLLECTION, NEW YORK