Sound Installation | SQUEEEQUE by Alexis O'Hara

August 1 - 3, 2025

Time: Ongoing throughout Sappyfest

Location: Autonomous Scrap Yard (7 Lorne St.)

Presented as part of L'Ambiance

a partnership with Sappyfest

It began at night: During a particularly agitated sleep cycle, the artist dreamt her head had been transformed into a giant microphone in a house constructed entirely of speakers. Each time she attempted to leave the house or even peer out the windows, sharp squeals of feedback prevented her. A prisoner, she stayed in the center of the house, save for particularly melancholic moments that led her to graze the walls, unleashing rebellious wailing. Perhaps a nightmare for some; for this artist, an invitation.

The work of Alexis O'Hara is often inspired by the exploitation of sonic and visual distortion. In her live performances she manipulates vocally-generated feedback, effected by guitar pedals and a mixer, creating backing tracks for her storytelling. But sometimes she gets tired of listening to her own voice, troubled that her work can be so narrowly tied to her physical presence. Would it be possible to create performances without having to perform?

With SQUEEEQUE (an onomatopoeia evoking the sound of feedback), O’Hara addresses this question, offering a terrain that invites the audience to perform.

This dome is an intimate space that encourages the loss of inhibition. With mics in hand, strangers collaborate in song, their self-confidence bolstered by sonic embellishments.

This lo-tech media artwork engages in a playful reconfiguring of recycled objects collected from flea markets, recycling centres and a local network*, reflecting an encyclopaedia of the home stereo, spanning decades of design trends. A chronology of the home entertainment system, each building block is imbued with the energy of the living room it once enlivened. Inspired by the architectural marvel that is the igloo, this installation also pays homage to the geodesic domes of the great thinker and architect, Buckminster Fuller.

But more than anything, this project owes a debt to the art, long forgotten by most adults, of fort-building: stretching a bed sheet over two chairs, digging a grotto in the snow that fell last night, erecting a dome home from old speakerboxes...

"Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them." ​

​Buckminster Fuller

BUT, WHAT IS IT, EXACTLY?

A stereophonic fort. A sonic cocoon.

The inward-facing speakers are activated once someone enters and takes in hand one of the four microphones hanging from the ceiling. Because the speakers are connected in parallel & series wiring, feedback is not an issue unless you seek it out! The installation’s interactivity is immediately obvious to the user. Since it can only welcome a half dozen people, the dome offers an intimacy that sheds inhibition. Strangers find themselves singing together, their confidence bolstered by the embellishments offered by effect unites. Effortlessly, instant & ephemeral sonic collaborations are created.

*SEEKING DONATIONS OF ALL KINDS OF SPEAKERBOXES

In order to build this work for L’ambiance, Struts gallery’s contribution to Sappyfest, we need your help. We are seeking donations of speakerboxes. The bigger the better but small is important too. It would be preferable if they were functional but non-functional is ok also.

Perhaps you have some acting as table legs, gathering dust in your basement or garage, or maybe you'll spot some in the garbage. Keep your eyes peeled please and let us know!

Contact admin@strutsgallery.ca to arrange for speaker pick up.

About the Artist

Alexis O’Hara is an undisciplined artist who has toured internationally with her spoken-noise performances and installations. She has released four albums, a few chapbooks and zines and enough helium balloons to get her dress caught in a Belgrade chandelier. She is a recipient of the Powerhouse Prize, awarded by La Centrale, Canada's longest-running feminist art gallery. Alexis and her drag king alterego, Guizo LaNuit, are mainstays of the Montreal cabaret scene. Her blood type is O+ which means she is a giver.