a new sculpture


its been 6 months since i first exhibited my 'kinetic prototypes' at 'nifty',a co-show with mate stu. back then there was so little time and so much to do. we managed to put up a show but the lack of time meant compromising quality in the works. on the private view of nifty, my water wheel sculpture didn't turn because i burnt the motor. the toaster pyramid didn't work either because the fuses kept popping. lets say, there was generally room for improvement.


since then i overhauled all of my works. i made the assembly easier, bought new, better parts and built crates. i learned from the last 5 shows i had that it is best to be prepared and to do stuff properly. remember, hindsight is not a superpower!


below is a documentation of the progress of my latest work from prototype to finished work. it took nearly 4 months from idea to executed piece. it was mainly research and ordering parts, the rest craft and assembly.


so far i don't have a title for the work but i can tell you what inspired me to do it. a lady bird. if you have ever been lucky enough to have one on your hand, you will realise how it tries to walk in one direction, trying to get off your hand. funny enough it is very easy to fool the lady bird and make it walk forever. you simply put one hand in front of another, creating a rotating path. once you stop, the bug reaches the edge of your hand and usually flies away. i found it fascinating how this creature kept moving forward, hoping it would arrive somewhere, clueless about his wasted efforts. i felt the symbolism in this paradox was very strong and i tried to think of a way to communicate this in a simplified, mechanical way.


the sculpture consists of a ping pong ball and a drum with guttering trails that is mounted on a table and attached to a motor. the drum spins at 6 rpm in an anti clockwise motion, creating a consistent spin. the ball, which is a victim to gravity rolls down the trails, attempting to reach the bottom but the ever revolving drum of trails keeps spinning and the ball is stuck in a rolling limbo.