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Sentient Cog
august 2 - september 15th. 2002. 5th. Gallery, Dublin
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WIRED
Man, Machine: Can't We Get Along?
By Daithí Ó hAnluain
2:00 a.m. Sep. 13, 2002 PDT
DUBLIN, Ireland -- Some owners of Aibo, Sony's digital dog, actually believe their "pet" is unhappy with them, just by the noises it makes or the way its
eyes change color. And tech lore is full of stories about the ways people have abused computers that act up.
The interplay between machines and human intellectual and emotional intelligence is the theme of an unusual exhibition showing this month at Dublin's
5th Gallery.
...The star of the show is undoubtedly Bjoern Schuelke's Drone #2. A giant mechanical bug, it looks like a demented cross between a bat, a praying
mantis and the superstructure of a blimp. From afar, it appears graceful and free, but once it senses someone's presence its arms begin to hover
menacingly, as if they had eyes, over the viewer.
The piece is chock-full of motion sensors, cameras and an LCD panel that together create the eerie impression that it's watching you watch it. ... |
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THE IRISH TIMES- ARTS
7 August 2002
Ref: Storehouse
Subject: Sentient Cog
………In Sentient Cog at 5th@Guinness Storehouse, Director Paul Murnaghan sets out to explore “the relationship between electronic, mechanical and human emotion” through the work of five contemporary artists.
There is always an element of paranoia and apprehension in our dealings with technology, and Björn Schülke sets out to address it with his Drone#2. A drone is usually a pilotless surveillance aircraft. Schülke’s is more a satellitelike construction, a big, spidery form suspended from the ceiling. It incorporates “solar cells, heat sensors, propellers, videochips and a TFT monitor”, and it is a beautiful object.
Beautiful, but a bit spooky, because its heat sensors respond to the human presence and it begins to behave in a way that suggests it’s observing us. Although it looks fragile and elegant, it unmistakebly dominates the space. Yet the aesthetic qualities of Drone#2 probably win out over political. There is a distinct feeling that Schülke loves the technology, loves the forms, the sensitivities, the possibilities.
……….contd.
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