Selected Works
project2891 - Reveal / Reset (2009)
Reveal / Reset was an exhibition hosted by New Media Scotland showcasing a selection of 08|09 Alt-w award recipients.
For it's part of the exhibition, project2891 offered up a vertical adaptation of the swing-arms first presented in the "Hello World!" exhibition earlier in the year (described below).
This time around, the relationship between the representation of nodes in the software, and the actual physical arrangement of the installation were switched around a bit. In previous installations, a complete swing-arm assembly (fans, sensors, lamps) was included in a node. For Reveal / Reset, each group of sensors, motors and lamps were their own node. The swing-arms acted as intermediary between the fans, and the sensors.
For it's part of the exhibition, project2891 offered up a vertical adaptation of the swing-arms first presented in the "Hello World!" exhibition earlier in the year (described below).
This time around, the relationship between the representation of nodes in the software, and the actual physical arrangement of the installation were switched around a bit. In previous installations, a complete swing-arm assembly (fans, sensors, lamps) was included in a node. For Reveal / Reset, each group of sensors, motors and lamps were their own node. The swing-arms acted as intermediary between the fans, and the sensors.
project2891 - "Hello World!" (2009)
"Hello World!" marked the official launch of project2891 for public consumption.
Project2891 was collection of electromechanical devices, called nodes, which communicated with each other via the internet using a protocol I designed. All communication was 'in the open' and could be intercepted and read by anyone with a internet connection and knowledge of the protocol. Other artists were encouraged to create their own nodes that could influence, or be influenced, by the system.
The entire content of the project was released under an 'open source' license.
The exhibition introduced the first batch of nodes, and the methods used to control them. The exhibition consisted of electromechanical devices, screen-based animations, and a sound work. All of which existed as individual artworks and as elements of the larger installation.
Nodes 105 & 106 made up the electromechanical elements of the installation, and provided the origin of all the acvitity in the other nodes in the gallery. This consisted of 6 vertical swingarms (node 105), each of which were paired to 6 horizontal swingarms (node 106). Each swingarm, both horizontal and vertical, had a small electric fan at one end, and sensor at the other. As the fans turned on and off, it would upset the balance of the swingarms causing them to to swing back and forth. They interacted with each other as they moved about & triggered each others sensors. This interaction was then translated into data which was sent to project2891's switchboard using "protocol2891".
Node 102 was a patch written in the programming language, pure data, which generated sounds based in part on the data produced through the interaction between nodes 105 and 106. As the patch generated the audio, it fed yet more data back to the swtichboard affecting the motion in nodes 105 and 106.
Node 101 acted as a graphical "monitor" of all the nodes activity in project2891. In this case, it was reflecting the rate of interaction between node 105 and 106 and the feedback provided by node 102.
Project2891 was collection of electromechanical devices, called nodes, which communicated with each other via the internet using a protocol I designed. All communication was 'in the open' and could be intercepted and read by anyone with a internet connection and knowledge of the protocol. Other artists were encouraged to create their own nodes that could influence, or be influenced, by the system.
The entire content of the project was released under an 'open source' license.
The exhibition introduced the first batch of nodes, and the methods used to control them. The exhibition consisted of electromechanical devices, screen-based animations, and a sound work. All of which existed as individual artworks and as elements of the larger installation.
Nodes 105 & 106 made up the electromechanical elements of the installation, and provided the origin of all the acvitity in the other nodes in the gallery. This consisted of 6 vertical swingarms (node 105), each of which were paired to 6 horizontal swingarms (node 106). Each swingarm, both horizontal and vertical, had a small electric fan at one end, and sensor at the other. As the fans turned on and off, it would upset the balance of the swingarms causing them to to swing back and forth. They interacted with each other as they moved about & triggered each others sensors. This interaction was then translated into data which was sent to project2891's switchboard using "protocol2891".
Node 102 was a patch written in the programming language, pure data, which generated sounds based in part on the data produced through the interaction between nodes 105 and 106. As the patch generated the audio, it fed yet more data back to the swtichboard affecting the motion in nodes 105 and 106.
Node 101 acted as a graphical "monitor" of all the nodes activity in project2891. In this case, it was reflecting the rate of interaction between node 105 and 106 and the feedback provided by node 102.
Symets 1-3 (2010)Symets were part of the Vestiges Park exhibition during the Glasgow International Festival in 2010. The exhibition was located in an industrial wasteland in Glasgow which was completely overrun with Japanese Knotweed.
Each Symet was a pod constructed of woven lead sheet. A solar powered electronic circuit was place inside each pod. The circuit caused a small pendulum to strike a crystal goblet inside the pod, causing a chime. The frequency of the chimes was directly proportional to intensity of the sunlight striking the solar panel. |
The Three Fish (2004)This work was component of a collaborative installation between myself and Jakob Ankarsvard.
The installation was a collection of works controlled by a central computer. All aspects of the exhibition (including the gallery lighting) were randomly activated and deactivated by the computer. The images below are of a 'sponge car', tethered to the ceiling by it's power cord, and placed on a floor covered in petroleum jelly. When the computer would 'turn on' the car, it would violently and vainly attempt to free itself from it's power source. |
The Factory (2003)
The Factory is a Flash based animation representing a near perfect system, representing the ideals of the modernists, futurists and the Russian constructionists of the early 20th century. Containing a collection of non-synchronous loops, The Factory's only recourse to equalize the imbalance it creates is to shut down, discard excess resources and reset itself. I present it here as the first work I created concerning humans relationship with machines, 'the virtual', and the value of labor.