This statement accompanied the proposed work 2 Antipodeans Marking out their Territory for the Lempriere Sculpture Award 2002.
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2 Antipodeans marking out their territory
Fibreglass, Wood, Motors, Solar Cells, Batteries, Micro Chips, Bearings, Chains, Gears
270 x 250 x 1125 cm
The work Two Antipodeans marking our their Territory was created in 1991 specifically for my exhibition Machina Persona at the AGNSW. Immediately pre-dating Two Antipodeans … was the "armoured car" used in performances in Holland & Germany as Peace Car through Europe.
Two unrelated events influenced my work at the time of the construction of Two Antipodeans ... : the aboriginal land claims case resulting in the Wick ruling and the Gulf War. But the notion of a line forming a boundary had infused my work from much earlier times. The performance works, Sand Memories and Against the Tide from the mid 1970’s evolve from notions of the natural boundary between earth and sea, interior and exterior.
Two Antipodeans … consists of two large “X” shaped personae mounted on pods that move mechanically backwards and forwards along a special 12 metre track. They move at a slow lumbering speed. From time to time they collide and either change direction or one follows the other. Sensitive switches at the nose of the pods transmit interriorimatronics expert and electronic engineer. As a result of this collaboration I became interested in further developing the Two Antipodeans. Independent power supplied by solar cells would allow the work to be self-sustaining to a much greater degree. By upgrading the micro chip to a programmable controller with more sophisticated programming script, and introducing sensors to interact with the controller, it would be possible to develop a more sophisticated interaction between the Two Antipodeans and the audience. Siting the Two Antipodeans on an elevated track would provide a proscenium for the unfolding drama.
Over the past two years I have had the opportunity, through the New Media Fellowship, to work with a team comprising an animatronics expert and electronic engineer. As a result of this collaboration I became interested in further developing the Two Antipodeans. Independent power supplied by solar cells would allow the work to be self-sustaining to a much greater degree. By upgrading the micro chip to a programmable controller with more sophisticated programming script, and introducing sensors to interact with the controller, it would be possible to develop a more sophisticated interaction between the Two Antipodeans and the audience. Siting the Two Antipodeans on an elevated track would provide a proscenium for the unfolding drama.
