Impetus of the Machine

Humans place their hopes and beliefs onto technological systems whilst developing a relationship of subordination and trust. This installation draws attention to society’s perverse dependency on technology by reversing the current power dynamic between humans and machine. In this scenario, the robot relies on us.

‘Impetus of the Machine’ is a kinetic machine with a lifespan that decreases with every motion. It is a robotic installation, that functions with light, sound and motion, performing harmoniously and repeatedly through a breathing cycle; as if it was alive.

In this setting, people were given an explicit position of power upon the fate of the robot: they could use a hand crank to increment the machine’s cycles and increase its life or contemplate its decline. ‘Impetus of the Machine’ is a decontextualisation of current technological systems presenting itself as a one purpose machine that can only survive by human intervention.