Untitled (ballon machine)
Untitled (Balloon Machine), 2011. Balloons, rotisserie motor, air conditioning duct, ply wood, bucket, fan, cable ties, paaarty lights, motion sensor, balloon pit, extension leads, duct tape.
This is a work which almost makes no sense. When a visitor entered the stairway, a sensor cut through the ceiling turned on the paaarty sirens to signal celebrations. It turned on the pink fan which blew a load of balloons through the duct, through a storage cupboard and a wall to a plywood iris, which was controled by a rotisserie motor, which allowed approximately 15 seconds for the visitor to climb the stairs to have the balloons rain down upon them from above.
The sensor was from some security lights, the sirens would blow their little light bulbs (which were hard wired) about every second day and everything was plastic and needed to be greased or the gears just started shredding. There was a reason they were incredibly cheap - audible grinding noise as they spun incredibly slowly.
This is the same pink fan from the confetti machine (it glows in the dark) I found it on the side of the road, it no longer oscillates but it's not a function I seem to need. Everything about this is almost pointlessly complicated - I even made a second work the day before the show opened because I didn't think it was going to work. Sometimes a balloon would get jammed in the duct (because balloons are not particularly round) and I would have to do an extraction.
This was an exhibition curated by the most excellent Kel Glaister. I mostly remember this time for coming in after work at 11pm to replace lights and extract balloons, I also spent a lot of time up ladders. I learnt a lot about how balloons like to move, but never really enough to solve any of my problems. I am not sure when I'll need any of this information again.