2011
Throughout the 20th century automation technology has always been associated with constructive operations such as industrial manufacturing,
heavy duty operations and laboratory testing. With the course of time, however, automation has infiltrated into every aspect of our lives up to a
point at which we perceive it as the norm. Taking this as a starting point it is interesting too see that today designers are turning back to that t
echnology in an attempt to use it creatively. The popularity of Arduino is a perfect example of our struggle to bring physicality to our digital
surroundings. The pleasure of creative interaction could also be subverted.
An engaging example of this could be seen in the installation piece of the Dutch photographer Jonas Lund, This Too Shall Pass displayed at
The Second Act Photography Festival, 2011.
In this case the digital input, activated by human curiosity /entering a specific website/ triggers the process of physical destruction
of an object. I find this idea extremely thought-provoking, both in relation to printed communication and in a more abstract sense.
In a way it corresponds with my overall 3rd year enquiry into the physical aspects of digital technology. Therefore, I intend to re-
examine it with a slightly different point of focus. I am interested in exploring the extend to which online/digital users are aware
of the impact of their actions/choices to the tangible, physical world.
I found out that the shredder was built by René Bakker, an engineer who works with creatives on a variety of exciting projects.
He has the most curious little workshop and some interesting uploads of experiments on youtube.
