resolved and completed

charging is complete and ready for the show. 

 putting the plinth together

 test and configuration of electronics

 complete!

 plants rigged up with wires connected to copper probe inserted into soil, with aluminium probe on the other side of the plant

 this is the networked electronic detonation device - 

the plants are apparently running the clock device (at right),

which turns and breaks the connection on the electric eye (light bulb),

which triggers the voltage fluctuator (rear),

which also registers on the counter of the 'dynamite' branches.

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.

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..?

 

plant hybrids

it's been a busy week with writing - i had to conjure up a 3000 word sample chapter of my thesis - and my head is full of literary conversions of my creative material output.

"The expansive territory of nature serves as both a rich field of inspiration from which to harvest ideas and a prism through which to examine the swirling pool of our collective understanding."

on the good news front, i just got curated into a group show for the end of november. it's at a commercial gallery - dianne tanzer - as part of their progressive program of introducing emerging artists into the mix of their represented stable. curated by drew pettifer and gillian brown the theme of the show fits pretty well perfectly in line with my work - experiments in plant hybridisation - the title taken from an 1865 book by gregor mendel.

this exhibition affords me the opportunity to revisit a previous work - prewood_postwood - that was exhibited at c3 contemporary art space in 2009. 

prewood_postwood 2009

rather than just re-represent this particular piece i'm going to develop and refine it. so the plan is to make it more intricate, with more component elements, so that the integration of biology and technology is more intertwined and appears more co-productive.