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Kinetica Artfair 2012/ The Daniel Poole Gallery/ Titia Ex
ARTS THREAD were welcomed by an orchestra of whirrs, clunks and bangs as we entered the Kinetica Artfair in the Ambika P3 Gallery, London. The five-day event brings together an incredible mixture of artists and designers who experiment with kinetic, electronic, sound, light and time-based media to create wonderful works of art. The packed-out venue was full of young and old alike, all eager to interact and examine the works on display.
Studio Roosegaarde/ Tim Lewis
We were a little intimidated by Studio Roosegaarde‘s Liquid Space installation as it began closing in on us. The giant machine can detect approaching visitors and rotate in their direction. If a person stands beneath it, the machine begins to lower whilst emitting colourful lights and sounds. While the lights and sounds were beautiful, we were a little scared that it was going to squash us!
Tim Lewis’ work was also a little creepy. The nightmarish animatronics which occupied his space at the exhibition were like something out of a horror movie!
Ivan Black/ Sophie Cullinan
Using simple forms, Ivan Black created a complex kinetic structure called 3 Cubes. By spinning the structure manually, the viewer will see the cubes begin to change shape.
Multi-media artist Sophie Cullinan exhibited her interactive piece Worn. Constructed from discarded garments, Cullinan created a life-size woman who, with the help of viewer interaction, can become inflated and stand up.
Poietic Studio
The Tropism Well by Poietic Studio was one of the most over-the-top ways of serving a drink we’ve seen! When a person stands in front of the Well, sensors are activated causing water to gush up a wipe to a pitcher higher above the persons head. The weight of the water then causes the pip and pitcher to lower before elegantly pouring water into the person’s cup.
Chris Stoneman/ Dianne Harris
One of our ARTS THREAD top ten designers from Designersblock at LDF 2011, Chris Stoneman, was also in attendance displaying his intriguing lighting designs. Nearby was Dianne Harris’ interactive Flower of Life was gaining a lot of attention. By simple turning a revolving lever, viewers would spin a goldon object which, with enough momentum, would open and light up.
Patrick Tresset/ Sharisharishari
Having heard so much about Patrick Tresset’s Aikon II, we were really excited to see it in action! The Aikon II is a mechanical arm which has the uncanny ability to sketch anyone who sits before it.
The Kinetic Roof by Sharisharishari was awarded the 1st Prize in the international open design competition of the future LRT station in Okayama, Japan. The prototype roof is made of light sensitive materials which react to sun and change their shape accordingly.
Jordan Burnett/ Immo Blease
Jordan Burnett and Immo Blease both created installations which reacted to Twitter trends but in highly different ways. Jordan had a series of lightbulbs which would flash each time one of the top trends were mentioned (the Justin Beiber lightbulb was flashing at a rather frantic rate!) while Immo created a device which created a unique artwork based on each trending Tweet. Immo assigned each letter of the alphabet its own colour which would then be visually represented by the 140 character Tweets appearing in the top trend feed.
To active Jordan’s TweetLamp then send a tweet to @TweetLamps.
