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.

measurement lessons

today was the day to get the plinth together for my sculpture for the dianne tanzer show and i got straight into it with constructing the framework.

 just a basic rectangular number, woodchip panels and pine struts

now, the measurement lesson came when i rolled out the artificial grass i had recently purchased and discovered i did not buy enough! rather frustrating, of course, especially with a car at the insurance assessors after the recent crash. one must always check and recheck measurements!

so, on to the next step in the preparation, which was securing the bundle of branches (for the simulated dynamite) with some rope. in order for the rope to be secured permanently and to avoid knots that look messy and upset the way in which the bundle sits, i decided to sew the rope together. i'm always amazed with the new skills one must acquire in the pursuit of one's art production!

a few more minor adjustments are required for the electrical circuitry that makes up the detonation device, together with a series of batteries to power it - so that's the next step. here is a little test of layout:

the plinth will be completely covered in artificial grass, including the top. but you get a sense now of the complete work. i have to wait until thursday to get the artificial grass from bunnings but the final touches on the circuitry can be completed and i'll have it all ready to go to the gallery!

countdown

a slight delay in production this week due to a pretty heavy road accident - fortunately Lucy and I came through relatively unscathed, but my car is still being assessed for repair or write-off status. some idiot ran a red light on dandenong rd and plowed into us.

anyway, i always ensure my production process has certain time flexibilities, usually due to my sculptures having technical components that can be susceptible to glitches in the build phase. this flexibility has allowed for me to absorb a few days off to deal with the crash and stay on track with my sculpture for the 'Experiments on Plant Hybridization' at Dianne Tanzer Gallery.

a quiet saturday in the studio with the soldering iron.

today i completed a counter that will form part of the 'detonation device' in the sculpture. 

the plan is for the counter to form an interactive component in the work. it will be connected (hopefully, my amateur electronic skills are being stretched here) to a sensor that detects a viewer getting close to the work. the conceptual idea is that this detonation device will get closer to arming itself when anyone gets close to it. so, with live plants eliciting an energy that looks as if it is charging a 'bomb', any attempt to disarm the bomb only brings it closer to detonation. the implications or evocations of this idea are open for the viewer to consider.

i've selected some plants too - typical household plants, purchased from a large warehouse retail chain. the plants are little symbols of 'the natural' but really are quite removed from nature. propagated and cultivated via techniques of mass production more aligned to factory production than the natural cycles of life, these plants straddle both natural and cultural worlds.

the plants are pilea cadierei or aluminium plants. they work nicely in name as there is aluminium conductors in the soil of the plants for the sculpture and the foliage of the leaves echoes the patterns of the circuit boards of the electronics. 

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. 

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.

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.