About Wave Farm
Wave Farm Artist-in-Residence: Mollye Bendell
5662 Route 23 | Acra, NY 12405 | 518-622-2598
http://wavefarm.org/
Mollye Bendell Portrait Image. Courtesy Mollye Bendell. (Mar 21, 2018)
Auditioning a New Iteration of “Whethervanes” for Visitors. Photographed by Galen Joseph-Hunter (Jun 22, 2018)
Closeup of Components of Wave Farm Resident Mollye Bendell's "Whethervanes" Installed on the Bank of a Wave Farm Pond, Looking South. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Components of Wave Farm Resident Mollye Bendell's "Whethervanes" Installed on the Bank of a Wave Farm Pond, Looking Southeast. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell and Tom Roe On Air in the Wave Farm/WGXC 90.7-FM Acra Studio. Photographed by Galen Joseph-Hunter (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell and Tom Roe On Air in the Wave Farm/WGXC 90.7-FM Acra Studio for the Saturday Afternoon Show. Photographed by Galen Joseph-Hunter (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell at the Tower Site of Wave Farm/WGXC 90.7-FM. Photographed by Galen Joseph-Hunter (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Adjusting the Position of Components for "Whethervanes". Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Experimenting with Antenna Configurations for "Whethervanes" . Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Hanging Components of "Whethervanes". Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Installing and Testing Components of "Whethervanes". Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Listening to an Iteration of "Whethervanes" Installed Near the Edge of the Forest . Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Modifying an Iteration of "Whethervanes" for a Birch Tree. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Positioning a Nest of Wire in the Wind as Part of "Whethervanes" . Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Testing Speaker Positions for "Whethervanes" . Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency at Wave Farm Testing Speaker Positions for "Whethervanes" . Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell in Residency Study Center at Wave Farm Auditioning a New Iteration of “Whethervanes”. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell On Air in the Wave Farm/WGXC 90.7-FM Acra Studio for the Saturday Afternoon Show with Tom Roe. Photographed by Galen Joseph-Hunter (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell On Air in the Wave Farm/WGXC 90.7-FM Acra Studio for the Saturday Afternoon Show with Tom Roe. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell on the Bank of a Wave Farm Pond, Adjusting Components of "Whethervanes" on a Birch Tree. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell Soldering Components for “Whethervanes” While in Residency at Wave Farm. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell Speaking with Visitors While in Residency at Wave Farm. Photographed by Galen Joseph-Hunter (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell Testing "Whethervanes" at Wave Farm. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman. (Jun 22, 2018)
Mollye Bendell’s Unique Storage Solution for Electronic Components . Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Tom Roe Preparing to Go Live with Mollye Bendell in the Wave Farm/WGXC 90.7-FM Acra Studio for the Saturday Afternoon Show. Photographed by Galen Joseph-Hunter (Jun 22, 2018)
View of Various Circuit Layouts in Progress from Mollye Bendell’s Residency at Wave Farm. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
Wave Farm Resident Mollye Bendell's "Whethervanes" Installed Near the Edge of the Forest, Looking South. Photographed by Bryan Zimmerman (Jun 22, 2018)
In "Whethervanes" Bendell continues a practice in antenna design, delving farther into the physical side of electronic media, building her own circuits in a playful meditation on the physics of the signal. "Whethervanes" consists of a series of experimental radios in which components such as the tuner and antennae are subject to the wind. Found and constructed objects including weathervanes, flags, sails, and windmills are used to manipulate different kinds of potentiometers and different antenna configurations. Bendell's specialized and sculpted radio devices mount to roofs, stake into gardens, and observe the tides from piers. "Whethervanes" illustrate the physical nature of electronic media in conversation with a force of nature.
Mollye Bendell makes digital and analog sculptures to connect with digital and analog worlds. She seeks to create the space between physical beings, to build a practice around intangibility and to meditate on the contradiction of the act of making in the absence of the object. Her work uses the ephemeral nature of electronic media as a metaphor for exploring vulnerability, visibility, and longing in a world that can feel isolating.