electrical successes

there's something very pleasant about weekends at the studio. i think this stems mostly from the fact that my studio is on a university campus and weekends mean that there's no-one around. also, i think i like to work when the rest of the world is not - nights and weekends are always the most productive for me.

i finally resolved the fluctuating voltage meter issue. it came down to rethinking the power connections - in simple terms, i adjusted from a 'connection' focus, to a 'disconnection' focus. this emphasises a break in the circuit rather than a connection. problem solved.

 here the wires touching the aluminium foil connect the circuit and you can see the voltage meter in the background with a positive reading.

 and now here the second hand on the clock has dislodged the copper wiring and caused the circuit to disconnect and the voltage meter drops

the motion of the clock, its circularity of time, causes the fluctuations in the voltage supply. i can now rig the whole thing up (by hiding the clock mechanism) to appear as of the voltage is being read from the plants, which will be wired up with actual voltage running through soil.

 here i have run a 9v charge through the soil of 2 plants, interconnected by insertions of aluminium foil and copper sheets to complete the circuits

 interconnected here with the flashing LED light circuit i built

now that these technical issues have been resolved i can move on to constructing the actual sculptural piece and build the illusion/proposition that energy is being drawn out of the plants themselves and is acting as a detonation trigger for the branch bundle. 

new thematic context

the process of transitioning from masters to phd continues to play heavily on my mind, and its impact on my approach to my entire practice cannot be understated. the whole process takes about 2 months from start to final approval from the research centre at the university. i'm at the very last hurdle and there is, as i've noted in previous posts, a refining and reworking of my general premise.

fortunately, this juncture is the perfect opportunity for such a review of one's work. in the interest of laying out some thoughts to help in my grappling for a clearer thematic expression of my 'project' here's where i'm scrambling:

+ the title of my work, chaos calls, was meant as an evocation of 'nature calls' or 'the call of nature' and how it both calls for us (our attraction to it and our need for its resources) and to us (in the sense that we are the articulated expression of nature, it has 'talked' us into existence). chaos is simply a better description of nature and a way of extricating the true meaning of nature from the limited perceptions of it that are controlled by a historical interpretation of that word - 'nature' - and all the 'old' connotations of the wilderness, the other, and the objective. However, the title has not been well received by the professors at uni and at some level i can see their point. its implication is of something far wider in scope than the actual creative production i am undertaking. that is, the body of artwork that i have produced speaks to a far more refined aspect of nature, or chaos even. where chaos evokes the entirety of nature and, well, everything, my actual art evokes issues of a human interaction with nature. the nature i use in my work is almost always a 'culturalised' nature - nature controlled, manipulated or constructed by human engagement (pot plants, gardens, logs chopped from street trees etc). this is truly the essence of my work and while i may be dealing with a broader overall interpretation of nature, the actual physical manifestation of my ideas in these material creations is definitely dealing more specifically with the human use of 'nature'. 
and so, with a chance to renew my project, in light of the phd upgrade, it would actually serve me better to more clearly refine my thematic approach in that context and to rename my thesis. so far, the strongest thematic idea that comes to mind is something like 'second nature', 'new nature', or a similar expression of the idea that human interaction with nature, often facilitated/mediated through the use of technology, consequently produces a 'new' nature.

exploding on to the scene

nature as a site for potentially explosive energy has manifested itself rather forcefully in this artwork. i'm rolling with the intuitive drive of this developing twist in my work and letting it run itself toward its self directed logical realisation.

again i'm trying to pursue the construction of a fluctuating voltage meter, using a better clock mechanism this time, but still struggling to get it to operate as i'd like. frankly, it's very frustrating.

i did, however, pick up an alternating flashing LED device to build for myself. the soldering iron came up and the amateur electronic construction began.

the idea here is to build a detonation and explosive device from electronics and plants. the alternating LED display and the fluctuating voltage meter are components of the sculpture that show that the device is 'active' and 'functioning', evoking an impending actualisation of the device. 

i think a simple supporting base of artificial grass will work for the sculpture. it has a way of reinforcing a sense of general artificiality that is evident in the work - a fake bomb - as well as almost fetishising the object, which i like.

as you can see from the last image, i'm working with the idea that live plants will act as the detonation mechanism, and there will be some apparent reading of life signs from the plant (LED displays flashing, hopefully a voltage meter will be 'reading' the plant activity). this will be connected to the bundle of branch sections that appear as if dynamite.

cleaning equations

after some consideration i think maybe the most refined expression of my core artistic practice is actually denoted by this guiding equation:

the attempt to

extract information 

from

culturalised elements of botanic nature

through the use of

technology

this then clearly identifies "the relationship with nature" as the focus of my interest. where nature and its definition is critical in this process, it is always supplemenary in my research to the focus on "the relationship". and even more particularly, a relationship mediated by technology.

detonating

another lesson in choosing appropriate materials - the small, cheap clock i had bought to build a fluctuating voltage meter eventually fell apart under the strain of an activity it was not designed for. i managed to run several different trials of the meter but the clock was so cheap and nasty it did not survive the customisation.

i've almost given up on the idea now, but i should really seek out a higher quality clock and give it another go.

having exhausted the clock/meter experimentation for the day, i turned my hand to some simple material compositions, looking for something to spark off the next section of work - and i think, with an open mind to finding something to replace the clock/meter aspect of the sculpture.

then i stumbled into a territory that has bubbled up in this sort of work previously. at a certain point, with electrical components, connecting wires and clocks/timing mechanisms, a very particular reference starts to appear. the materials evoke a connotation of ....

... detonation devices.

this isn't the first time this has appeared. there's some sketches from back in my honours year that has bomb-like plans. i had kept away from pursuing it as i felt that i wanted to create a more 'optimistic' style of art. but the materials have a way of speaking their own character and again i am seeing this appear in my work.

there is a simple relation of course. one of the driving concepts in my work is that there is a store of untapped potential energy inside nature that we have ignored or simply are unaware of. my proposition is that this is a positive energy. these detonation devices appearing in my work do clearly evoke a sense of unrealised power contained within natural objects. i'm starting to wonder if perhaps i shouldn't dictate how the power manifests itself (whether 'positive' or 'negative') and let the materials speak for themselves and allow the audience to interpret. i guess my fear is that, as the maker of these objects, i am in some way being aligned with destructive forces and all the connotations of terrorism.

but, having considered that, i am quite drawn to these things as objects - as they really do evoke a power. and this aspect is at the core of my interest. this untapped, potentially mind and body altering explosive force that is waiting to be released and realised.

equations and definitions

this upgrade process, to go to a phd, is really forcing me to get a better grip on exactly what i'm trying to do with this 'project'.

here's the latest break-down of my understanding:

the application of

commonly available monitoring and recording technologies

to

culturalised elements of botanic nature

in order to

extract information 

that is translated into 

audio/visual outputs

this is the dominant theme of my work thus far. 

there is an experimentalist aspect, in the construction of these kinetic networks, that is at once the process and the actual art object. the audio/visual outputs are not an end product but just one part of the entire network.

i'm hoping that by refining my practice down into this simple equation i can now define my work more clearly and also set about producing more refined, considered and better executed works.

registering action and authenticities

this week i have been consulting electronics handbooks and researching plant power. it would seem that large plants, that is - trees, can generate some low level voltage action. i've always been keen to somehow extract some sort of energy out of plants - perhaps as a way of illustrating the energetic charge i myself feel i acquire from being in the presence of nature. so this actual, measurable voltage charge is an interesting thing. 

in my sculptural works, the scale of the natural elements used (that is - little household plants) don't quite carry enough electrical charge to actually register with the equipment i have been harvesting from stereos. at least not without some more seriously scientific investigation. this is something i plan to pursue. however, for the purposes of an upcoming show, for which i will be contributing a small sculpture, i'd still like to engage with this idea. and in the interest of still communicating the potential electrical potency of plants, i'm going to rig up a voltage meter so that it appears to be reading some sort of electrical charge from the plant.

now this is something i have wrestled with for a while. ideally, and indeed my future intention will resolutely go in this direction, i would like to authentically harness actual power/information generated by plants/trees. in some cases i have indeed done this. however, producing simulations of these effects has a slight ring of illusion to it. and this troubles me to a small degree. but... in art, deception, illusion and trickery is territory well traversed. and if i think of the simple illusion of single point perspective in painting, i feel as if there is some place for illusion. if it stimulates the mind, and is conducted in such a way that it is not intended to make a fool of the viewer but rather to open up possibilities of thought, then surely that can't be too bad a thing.

so for my next sculptural work, i've started to rig up a voltage fluctuating device. one that produces a variant flow of voltage from a small battery, driven by the rotating second hand of a small clock. the voltage meter will be rigged up to a small plant or small terrarium of plants and appear to be giving a reading of the plant generating some sort of electrical charge.

i'm toying with the idea of pushing this one step further, where the energy being read from the plant then produces something else. i like the simple idea that the plants around us are generating some sort of energy (and for me i find this energy to be a medicinal one) but i would like to propose that this energy is then some sort of information that can be translated into something. in the past i've translated this energy into sound. this is still a fruitful possibility. i am also keen to explore more options too and with this new re-evaluation of my work, i'm thinking this is a direction to pursue with renewed vigour. 

applying the microscope and the telescope

in what feels like some sort of gentle epiphany, i've come to realise that the focus of my research is rather more refined that i had been imagining. when i look back over my work, which was a happy by-product of my application for a phd, it is clear to me that while my over-arching interest is in a broad re-interpretation of nature, my actual creative material output is more specifically focused on an exploration of technology as a filter and mediator of our relationship to nature. and it is this particular intellectual curiosity that is the driving theme of this project.

this is a rather exciting discovery as it refines the focus of my work and allows for a more directed line of inquiry.

looking back over the last couple of years to exhibited works and even works that were abandoned, incomplete or put on the back burner, it is apparent that they predominantly use various forms of technology to engage various forms of nature in order to extract or elicit information. and it is the construction of these experiment-like assemblages, together with their extracted information, that is the work. 

Network 2008 - spheres of wood, each with network cable, apparently seeking out a connection to a network plug, one visible on the trunk of the old tree.

Off The Record_An Aeolian Symphony 2008 - old turntable arms applied to the severed and spinning tops of logs, apparently extracting the sound from specific growth rings. Created rhythmic white noise/static sound.

 Tap 2008 - audio jack connected into central growth ring, extracted 'information' played through amplifier. Created low hum sound.

More recent works have seen a webcam monitoring a bonsai, a pseudo-EEG monitor connected via networked telecommunications cables to terrariums of garden plants, and recorded sounds of leaves and branches being broken by hand played back at slowed speeds. The connecting thread with the works is this focus on technologies being used to extract, or apparently extract, information from things that could be deemed to be 'natural', such as plants, leaves and logs.

understanding exactly what 'natural' objects i am using, and what forms of 'technology' i am choosing to use in these artworks will require analysis. but i feel confident that this renewed understanding of my work will enable a more refined artistic output.

plant hybrid - plinth ideas

the platform or base that is going to hold the sculpture for this upcoming show at dianne tanzer has been on my mind recently and i've started sketching out some ideas for it. i'd like to make a complete sculptural work that stands on its own, so thinking of ways to make the actual support for the more intricate components of the work be a part of the entire work is occupying my thoughts.

this is one idea for it - a black and white gridded form, perhaps even tiled, with a sunken top horizontal layer of artificial grass. 

 early thoughts are of a base like a chest

 this is with the sunken top layer of artificial grass, 

which provides a ground for the hybrid forms of electronics and living plants

this means the sculpture will only come up to about 70cm, requiring viewers to bend down to see the detail - and i'm not yet sure if this is a problem. this is perhaps one of the reasons why the support for the electronics/plant hybrid forms is playing on my mind. how best to 'present' these objects..?

 

review, rethink, reboot

yesterday i went to plead my case for an upgrade of my postgrad - from mfa to phd. a rather nerve-wracking process, but the unexpected positive side of the experience was the chance to collate my art from the last 18 months and review it as a collective body of work. it brought into sharper relief some of the themes running through my work as well as some of the weaknesses with it. of course, the feedback provided by the professors after my presentation also assisted with this process and as a result, i find myself refreshed and reinvigorated. 

 Rhythm Code 2009

Plane of Composition 2010

 HigherBreeds 2010

it was especially interesting to reconsider the conceptual premise i had been assuming was underpinning my work, after some of the feedback. 

where i go from here, will of course depend partly on whether i am granted the opportunity to extend my research into a phd, but i am feeling that i have been granted an opportunity to rethink the underlying impetus of my work. for example, it is more apparent now that i am only dealing with 'nature' in a very cursory sort of way. it feels perhaps more reflective of my practice to argue that i am dealing with networks. networks that incorporate some elements of a mediated nature perhaps, but the treatment of 'nature' in my work is not at the forefront of its operations as much as i had been thinking it was. whether i push it more into this realm, for example by injecting more of a natural focus, i need to reflect on some more. perhaps my interest does in fact lie with networks, and 'nature' is merely an aspect of thinking about networks and it is this approach that is more in-keeping with my creativity.

i do know that this particular body of work has been a very productive period for me and provides me with a jumping off point to aspire to a stronger and more refined creative output. the desire to step up my game and make better work is ever present.

 

plant hybridisation

very excited to get started with my sculpture for the upcoming group show at Dianne Tanzer Gallery. for the first stage i've collected together the basic materials that i'm planning to work with and commenced assembling them to see how to make them work.

a whole lot of electrical components harvested from hard rubbish

the ensemble of materials for this sculpture (at this stage) will be electronic components, plywood, artificial grass, fluorescent lights, speakers and living plants. this is a reflection of the materials used in the sculpture prewood_postwood (2009) that prompted my inclusion in this show.

at this early part of the process i'm just looking to see what elements fit together, a very intuitive trial and error experimentation with composition. i quite like the way these materials work together, i find them very pleasing to look at and for me atleast, they stimulate a few ideas as well. in a way, this first step is just confirming my choice of materials. next step will be working out how to integrate the components together so that they become more hybridised, blurring the line between where one elements ends and the other begins - a reflection of the conceptual approach of my current research into the ambiguities and difficulties in the relationship between nature and culture.

stripped logs

the battle of the logs continues. was really not happy with them, and i'm probably just being impatient, but i felt there needs to be more happening to them. more work needs to be put into them - in that, they need more evidence of human work engaging with them. so it seems anyway. as a result i've started stripping the bark completely off.

there's some great markings in the wood from some sort of moth or larvae. anyway, i think i'll sand them back, paint them and keep trying to figure something out.