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.