Moments of force is part of the Dimensions of line series of works and is the overarching title for works created through various interfaces that allow me to directly control a robotic drawing machine. This work was originally shown as part of Primavera 2014 (curated by Mikala Dwyer) at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
In the video below I use two interfaces. The first is constructed with friction discs like those found in fluid-head tripods. The disc consists of two slotted halves with a sticky, viscous fluid between them. The fluid slows down and smooths out the turning of the two halves of the disc in relation to one another. A knob on the friction interface allows me to increase or decrease the amount of friction that I am working with as a draw.
The second interface is based on a hand-strengthening device. The spring in this device means that the machine moves much more rapidly and erratically than it does with the friction interface.
One of the reasons I build this machine is the flexibility it offers. I’m working on a whole suite of interfaces that will allow me to control the machine in different ways and which will all bring an different inflection to the marks that I make.
Here are some shots of the work in situ at the MCA.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.