Auto Mata
ArtJOG 2015
6 to 28 June 2015
Taman Budaya Yogyakarta
AutoMata is a grid of mechanical eyes that follow visitors around the gallery space. If nobody is in the gallery space the eyes fall asleep. They awake again when a visitor approaches. Each eye moves independently.
Over the last year I have been printing lots of oversized, spooky eyes at the studio. They have a strange presence which can be disconcerting. They observe, but they dont reveal what they are thinking. In this work, the Auto Mata look back at the gallery visitors – challenging the dynamic between the artwork and audience.
An Automata is a self-operating machine. They were originally built as mechanical toys in both ancient China and in ancient Greece, and were the earliest form of robots. Also, in Bahasa Indonesia, 'mata' means 'eye'.
This work was created for Artjog in Yogyakarta 2015. It was a collaborative project with technician Ribut Sugianto and programmer Nathan Wheeler. Many thanks also to Lifepatch, HONFablab, Jogjarobotika, and of course Krack.
Images and videos below
