colony, '00
I consider the individual components of this piece to be members of a collective. Each sphere (approx. 8 inches diameter) is animated via simple means (shifting internal, centrifugal force and friction). While identical mechanically, the intersection of idiosyncracies in their exterior construction and the contours of their environments account for their unique behaviors. The sound they emit results from their internal mechanisms and changes subtly as they move. I am continually intrigued and surprised by the complex interactions that emerge when they are placed in a group. Over the years I have built approximately one-hundred and fifty of these devices and have often unleashed them in enclosed public spaces anonymously. I am always interested in the ways people approach these objects and interact with them when they don't know exactly what they are intended to be. Sometimes the balls will all congregate in a specific area and simply rock - until one or two of them suddenly jet away. This physical movement seems analogous to the movement of information about these objects when they are set up in a "guerilla" installation. These devices look the least life-like of anything I've built, yet are the most anthropomorphised works I have constructed.
Here is a quicktime.
Here is an mp4.