Blank_Pas de Deux
Year
Context
Blank is an experimental sculptural ensemble made up of five exhibits exploring different meanings of emptiness. Developed with Felix Weinold for Neue Galerie im Höhmannhaus in Augsburg.
Approach
In the video piece »Pas de Deux« a mop robot and a vacuum robot can be seen working in a tiny room, where they continuously interrupt each other in their programmed chores and involuntarily interact. Parallel actors attempting to engage in the same work.
Consisting of six exhibits, »blank« is an experimental sculptural ensemble. The elements occupy the room according different interpretations of the theme:
Blank: shining – bright – purged – clean – empty space. These and other facets pose the impulse and framework of the project that is finally filled by the audience.
»blank« plays on the audience’s associative readiness and openness to concentrate on the barely perceptible, and to come away with their own sensory understanding. »blank« takes time, concentration and attention, yet it rewards one with ciphers, humor and pure eye candy. »blank« consists of a series of single modules that were created over a year for this project.
"Enter the room and use the tools at your disposal to clean it until you are satisfied. Then, park yourself in any corner."
On the one hand, the work compares the behavior and movement patterns of humans and machines: both were given the same assignment—namely, to clean a defined space and leave it "spick and span."
On the other hand, both parties were equipped with cameras prior to starting work in order to capture footage of a white, unassigned space without interior elements. Sound boring? See for yourself what kind of variance and dynamics can be hidden in an empty space!
Contributors: Judith Bohle, Tjark Bernau, iRobot Roomba, iRobot Scooba