Abstract
In this article the authors, Tobias Klein and Jane Prophet, discuss their collaborative production of three recent artworks, inspired by the function of the human heart. The following quotes by the authors provide brief descriptions of three artworks about blood that they made collaboratively, which are at the heart of the article.
Blood Work 01. Two entwined glass vessels hold liquids; each has two chambers. They hang inside a gyroscope. In one, blue fluid on top of clear fluid; in the other, a transparent liquid supports a reddish-brown liquid. A belt turns, the gyroscope spins and the interlocking vessels tumble, blending the liquids into emulsions. Finally, the movement stops, and the liquids separate.
Blood Work 02: Unruh. The forms from Bloodwork 01 are wrapped in black tendrils of filament, and the glass vessels now hold viscous black ferrofluid that moves languorously through the transparent liquid. The gyroscope mechanism is augmented with a tubular structure through which metallic spheres can be seen moving freely. These are magnets, and as they move, the ferrofluid moves towards them, attracted by their invisible magnetic fields and the sculpture moves, stutters to a halt. Then, from entropy, the belt makes the gyroscope and magnets move again.
Common Datum. In a Hong Kong gallery, three glass and 3D-printed sculptures, suspended by thin wires, appear dormant. It is 2020 during a lull in the COVID-19 pandemic, and slowly the space is populated with visitors, speaking behind their masks. After a while, liquid drops aggregate on the upper 3D printed forms and trickle down the wires into the glass vessels. The works continuously absorb the humidity of human breath and the air expelled from moist human lungs during a conversation. Later, the people leave, and the lights dim. Finally, without breathing witnesses, the artwork ceases to produce water.
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Blood Work 01. Two entwined glass vessels hold liquids; each has two chambers. They hang inside a gyroscope. In one, blue fluid on top of clear fluid; in the other, a transparent liquid supports a reddish-brown liquid. A belt turns, the gyroscope spins and the interlocking vessels tumble, blending the liquids into emulsions. Finally, the movement stops, and the liquids separate.
Blood Work 02: Unruh. The forms from Bloodwork 01 are wrapped in black tendrils of filament, and the glass vessels now hold viscous black ferrofluid that moves languorously through the transparent liquid. The gyroscope mechanism is augmented with a tubular structure through which metallic spheres can be seen moving freely. These are magnets, and as they move, the ferrofluid moves towards them, attracted by their invisible magnetic fields and the sculpture moves, stutters to a halt. Then, from entropy, the belt makes the gyroscope and magnets move again.
Common Datum. In a Hong Kong gallery, three glass and 3D-printed sculptures, suspended by thin wires, appear dormant. It is 2020 during a lull in the COVID-19 pandemic, and slowly the space is populated with visitors, speaking behind their masks. After a while, liquid drops aggregate on the upper 3D printed forms and trickle down the wires into the glass vessels. The works continuously absorb the humidity of human breath and the air expelled from moist human lungs during a conversation. Later, the people leave, and the lights dim. Finally, without breathing witnesses, the artwork ceases to produce water.
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 114-123 |
| Journal | Performance Research |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Online published | 26 Oct 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Research Unit(s) information for this publication is provided by the author(s) concerned.Publisher's Copyright Statement
- This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/