Floe hanging from ceiling at Plug IN ICA 2014
Floe: Expression of an IceCap in 30 Measures. 2014. Plug In ICA, Winnipeg
Floe: Expression of an IceCap in 30 Measures. 2014. Detail of projected shadows. PlugIN ICA Winnipeg, Canada
Floe: Expression of an IceCap in 30 Measures. 2014. Detail from below. PlugIN ICA, Winnipeg, Canada.
This kinetic sculpture uses yearly measurements of ice cover in the Arctic Sea using a data set from the NOAA open databases (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The data it is comprised of 30 measurements of the polar ice cap's area from the years 1982 to 2012. (Data, NOAA GFDL CM2.1) The work is comprised of an articulated plane of Plexiglas arrows and steel rings, the shape is determined by how it is assembled
Using six motors and digital controllers the plane is set in motion moving in a predictable way. As the controller runs its program each of the 30 NOAA measurements are inserted randomly into the program as a variable. These variables disrupt the patterned movement by changing the speed, timing, and rotation of the motors, the result is that the movement pattern becomes distorted for a period and then returns to its predictable pattern.
In this work the distortion of the set pattern is the main element. The data, the microcontroller program, and the motor controllers work with and against each other in moving the articulated plane, at times making a pattern and other times deviating from the pattern. This process of creating deviations within set patterns follows my interest in exploring physical processes and the possible human effects on such processes. In this instance, it is the altered thaw and freeze patterns of the polar ice cap within our human time.
Floe: Expression of an IceCap in 30 Measures. 2014.
Floe: Expression of an IceCap in 30 Measures. 2014.
