SynSoma

June 3 – 12, 2011
Robyn Moody + Steve Daniels
*Hotshot Gallery
Curated by Michael Alstad + Camille Turner

Subtle Technologies Festival

Join us for the Exhibition Opening – June 4, 7pm-9pm!

SynSoma is an exhibition of kinetic works which explore the relationship between the artificial and organic through subtle mechanical mimicry of natural systems.

Robyn Moody’s Power 2: Heart Lake as seen through the eyes of Manley Natland adopts a closed system with simple repetitious mechanical functions made up of hundreds of spinning black gears of different sizes embedded with small tilted mirrors. Modeled after Heart Lake, a water source within the Alberta oilsands, the dark glistening surface suggests the separation of oil from sand through destructive processes. The varying shapes, sizes and hand made quality of each gear results in a complexity of emerging patterns going in and out of phase

Steve Daniels’ sessile is a colony of 25 kinetic sculptures incorporate an open system where each robot responds to changes in ambient light levels by opening and closing their limbs. A viewer’s shadow becomes a part of the colony’s environment and a medium of interaction. Subtle differences arise from a myriad of factors including small variations in construction, surface imperfections, their orientation to ground and most importantly their internal emotional state. The work creates a dialogue between participant and object where the observed and observer are interchanged.