Static and Noise explores sonic representations in photography and image arts, delving into the relationship between sound and image degeneration through reproduction, and how image noise is conceptually equivalent to audio noise. Drawn from the visual culture of punk, noise and DIY music-scenes, the exhibition will focus on the intentional manipulation of visual and sonic data to create chaotic, distorted or muddy aesthetics. This exhibition is part of a larger fall program at Gallery 44 exploring performance, sound and the limits of visual perception in relation to image-based practices.
For more information, read Static and Noise, an exhibition essay by Sameen Mahboubi. Designed by Tucker McLachlan.
Video documentation by Miles Rufelds.
Aliyah Aziz is a multidisciplinary storyteller who uses light to talk about how shadows and sound physically move through us. She uses disruption as a tool of resistance, sculpting glitch and static to channel the friction that exists between the surface and depth of the technology we engage with. Using custom instruments to conduct auditory frictions present in technology, Aziz harnesses electromagnetic frequencies as rhythmic noise in honour of the sonic ghosts that haunt our machines. She incorporates auditory statics akin to an underlying pulse, a living extension of voice beyond the body.
Bret Parenteau is a sound/noise artist based in Winnipeg. Under Wasauksing Sniper and the initials B.P., Parenteau creates noise, field recording, sound collage and tape manipulation. Most recently, Parenteau has been working on film scores for short and feature length films. Creating the scores for Ste. Anne (2021), NIGIQTUQ (The South Wind) (2023), Klee (2025) and Levers (2025). Parenteau’s collage work has been featured on releases for his local cassette label Makade Star. In addition, his latest work has been included in local galleries on Treaty 1 Territory, such as Urban Shaman, Galerie Buhler Gallery, Rosemary Gallery and Treaty 4's Godfrey Dean Art Gallery.
Nathan Ivanco is a Hamilton based multidisciplinary artist whose work navigates the intersections of sound, memory and the tactile qualities of analog media. Operating primarily under the moniker Shadow Pattern, Ivanco’s practice is characterized by a commitment to lo-fi aesthetics and a deliberate avoidance of mainstream promotional channels. His releases, often distributed through his own label, Hamilton Tapes, are typically available in limited cassette editions, emphasizing a direct, community-oriented approach to art distribution. Through his work, Ivanco invites you into a world where the boundaries between sound and physicality blur, creating a space where the imperfections of analog media become a conduit for emotional and sensory engagement. His work stands as a testament to the power of minimalism and the profound impact of personal, handmade artistry in an increasingly digital world.
Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta) is an artist, composer, and scholar whose practice merges Lakȟóta knowledge systems with performance, sound, sculpture, and computational media. She is Director of the Wíhaŋble S’a Center for Indigenous AI—a National Endowment for the Humanities–designated Humanities Research Center and a pod of the Abundant Intelligences program—at Bard College, where she is Distinguished Artist in Residence and Assistant Professor of American & Indigenous Studies. Recent exhibitions and performances include the 2025 Sao Paulo Biennial, 2024 Whitney Biennial, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), CARA (New York), the 14th Shanghai Biennale, and projects with NOME (Berlin) and REDCAT (Los Angeles). Her writing appears in the Journal of Design and Science (MIT Press) (“Making Kin with Machines”), Atlas of Anomalous AI, and other publications. Kite is an enrolled citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and lives in Catskill, NY.
