Labour Pattern #26

225 x 173 x 33cm
Aluminium, Steel, MDF, Electric Motor, Bearings, Coupling

145 physically separate aluminium channels are coordinated through a single motorised mechanism, producing a continuous rhythmic wave across the sculpture.

The work brings mechanical control into tension with apparently organic movement. As the individual channels move collectively, the exposed motor, mechanism and sound make visible the system producing that behaviour. What appears fluid and autonomous is generated through imposed conditions and coordination.

Shift

HD video, 8 pencil drawings on cartridge paper, Melbourne

A child was asked to copy the outline of Australia’s border. A second child was given the first border drawing and asked to copy that, and so on. With each child’s interpretation Australia’s border is transformed, and by extension its identity portrayed as being in a constant state of flux.