Fingers In The Outlet
The exhibition is part of a small research project looking into the idea of bricolage as a process of production. Within this the work functions as an experiment in how learning can define a process of making as it unfolds.
The show consists of a four of small ‘domestic’ investigations carried out on the consumer electronics and hardware I encounter on a daily basis whether through chance, the browsing of second hand stores or my own hoarding of these objects. These investigations form part of a hands-on, exploratory practice performed within a domestic setting, with domestic means, aimed towards the production of a knowledgeability that is a result of physically intervening with these objects. The project is located within a broader interest into the workings of Bricolage as a 'meaning-making' process but simultaneously one of ‘making-do’ with whatever is available. The title of the show, Fingers In The Outlet, alludes to a curiosity that expresses itself through whatever means is available. It also refers to the interruption of electrical flow and its redirection as a product of this physical intervention, a strategy that is fundamental to this entire process both literally and metaphorically.
See below for description of works.
The show consists of a four of small ‘domestic’ investigations carried out on the consumer electronics and hardware I encounter on a daily basis whether through chance, the browsing of second hand stores or my own hoarding of these objects. These investigations form part of a hands-on, exploratory practice performed within a domestic setting, with domestic means, aimed towards the production of a knowledgeability that is a result of physically intervening with these objects. The project is located within a broader interest into the workings of Bricolage as a 'meaning-making' process but simultaneously one of ‘making-do’ with whatever is available. The title of the show, Fingers In The Outlet, alludes to a curiosity that expresses itself through whatever means is available. It also refers to the interruption of electrical flow and its redirection as a product of this physical intervention, a strategy that is fundamental to this entire process both literally and metaphorically.
See below for description of works.
|
A Very Complex Wrong Answer from Nathan Gates on Vimeo. Set In Motion from Nathan Gates on Vimeo. Auto Logic from Nathan Gates on Vimeo. |
             |
Description of Works:
A Very Complicated Wrong Answer
This work is the result of my interest in the technical workings of video and is my attempt to replicate this process with a slide projector. Live video feed is taken from a webcam mounted on top of the slide projector; this feed is broken down into single frames and processed into very low-resolution (4032 pixels) black and white images. This image is then displayed on the LCD screen taken from a Nokia 3310 that has been placed in the projectors slide cradle, this allows light to shine through it and display the video at a few frames per second.
Drop and Throw: A Presentation of My Findings
This piece is based around a broken Sony Video Camera I had which after discovering the CRT viewfinder was still operational, was able to convert it into a very crude oscilloscope (a tool for visualizing waveforms) with some minor rewiring. The input of the ‘oscilloscope’ was connected to a simple pressure sensor made from a toy buzzer, turning it into a tool or instrument of measurement. Setting this rig up in a sound proof room, I gathered a selection of objects I had broken in the making of this exhibition to test their various responses to either being dropped or thrown with this new device. This process was recorded and the outcomes have been displayed next to the ‘testing rig’, which I have re-installed in the space in complete working order.
Set In Motion
After finding a penguin McDonalds Happy Meal Toy in a second hand store, I was delighted to discover the toy had simple motion detector hidden inside. After some tinkering the device has been repurposed into a trigger, activating this trigger by walking past sets in motion a sequence of events that build up to a crescendo and then returns to it’s original state in a reversed order. This procedure is a consistent and set motion that is repeated whenever the work is triggered.
Auto Logic
Auto-Logic consists of a combination of cell phone and answering machine that have been coupled via wireless radio transmitters. In this work the conventional direction of communication, cell phone to answering machine, has been reversed as well reduced to the most minimal form possible between the two devices. Taping on the lid of the answering machine allows you to communicate with the cell phone that receives and echo’s this transmission by vibrating.
All Photos Courtesy Christo Doherty 2013 (many thanks), unless stated otherwise.
Special Thanks to Tegan Bristow, as well as The Wits Digital Arts Department for the funding I recieved.
A Very Complicated Wrong Answer
This work is the result of my interest in the technical workings of video and is my attempt to replicate this process with a slide projector. Live video feed is taken from a webcam mounted on top of the slide projector; this feed is broken down into single frames and processed into very low-resolution (4032 pixels) black and white images. This image is then displayed on the LCD screen taken from a Nokia 3310 that has been placed in the projectors slide cradle, this allows light to shine through it and display the video at a few frames per second.
Drop and Throw: A Presentation of My Findings
This piece is based around a broken Sony Video Camera I had which after discovering the CRT viewfinder was still operational, was able to convert it into a very crude oscilloscope (a tool for visualizing waveforms) with some minor rewiring. The input of the ‘oscilloscope’ was connected to a simple pressure sensor made from a toy buzzer, turning it into a tool or instrument of measurement. Setting this rig up in a sound proof room, I gathered a selection of objects I had broken in the making of this exhibition to test their various responses to either being dropped or thrown with this new device. This process was recorded and the outcomes have been displayed next to the ‘testing rig’, which I have re-installed in the space in complete working order.
Set In Motion
After finding a penguin McDonalds Happy Meal Toy in a second hand store, I was delighted to discover the toy had simple motion detector hidden inside. After some tinkering the device has been repurposed into a trigger, activating this trigger by walking past sets in motion a sequence of events that build up to a crescendo and then returns to it’s original state in a reversed order. This procedure is a consistent and set motion that is repeated whenever the work is triggered.
Auto Logic
Auto-Logic consists of a combination of cell phone and answering machine that have been coupled via wireless radio transmitters. In this work the conventional direction of communication, cell phone to answering machine, has been reversed as well reduced to the most minimal form possible between the two devices. Taping on the lid of the answering machine allows you to communicate with the cell phone that receives and echo’s this transmission by vibrating.
All Photos Courtesy Christo Doherty 2013 (many thanks), unless stated otherwise.
Special Thanks to Tegan Bristow, as well as The Wits Digital Arts Department for the funding I recieved.
