The word Hello is less than two hundred years old. Thomas Edison lobbied for its use as a greeting in the early days of the telephone, to the chagrin of Alexander Graham Bell, who found it garish, and argued for Ahoy. The introduction of the Phonebook soon solidified Edison’s preference, by including authoritative instructions on telephone etiquette. 

The human-made object farthest from Earth is a greeting: the Voyager Spacecraft was launched in 1977 and left our Solar System in 2004. The Golden Record affixed to its side contains the sounds of voices in fifty-five different languages saying hello. 

The word we nod to strangers or call out to an echo is the subject of Dave Dyment’s 6th exhibition with the gallery. After two years of limited contact with others, the simple salutation can seem charged, or fraught with tension. Hello Hello explores the titular greeting with sound works, paintings, and a daisy-chain of images that wrap the main gallery. 

Dave Dyment is an artist whose practice encompasses audio, video, photography, performance, writing and curating, and the production of artists’ books and editions. Past projects include Addendum to the Tommy Westphall Universe, Every Building in the Sunset Strip and Watching Night of the Living Dead. Dyment is based in Sackville, New Brunswick.