This piece by Sharon Hayes is called “Everything Else Has Failed! Don’t You Think It’s Time For Love?”, done in 2007. This piece includes 5 frames each with a different illustration but every frame includes the same message. In addition it has a five-channel audio installation which plays numerous love letters read by Hayes herself.
I chose this piece because I’m very much a romantic and I think the message is very strong, the sound installation is especially a powerful tool in enveloping the audience in the piece as well as adding a personal and emotional appeal. Hayes often references “war”, but does not say which one, and the phrases sound as though they could be coming from a rejected lover’s diary. This piece conveys the message of love but it is much more than that, it is describing war and social change in the world. Every letter starts off with phrases like “My dear lover” or “My sweet lover”, but goes on to explain in detail how helpless and harsh it is to live in a time of war and destruction. Hayes addresses the relationship between war, politics and love in a powerful and enrapturing way in this sound installation.