22/02/2018 - Nikki Pugh
There were two evening lectures this week, and I didn't pay much attention to them as I have a 2 hour commute to get home. However John (who's a fellow ex physicist/engineer so knows about these things) pointed out that one of them mentioned an "orrey” in the description. So I went away and investigated the artist.
When I arrived at the talk, I knew not to expect a use of the term orrery like I understand it.
Nikki is not a jeweller but is just starting as an Artist in Residence for the MA program.
I'd say she's a conceptual artist with an engineering background (yay). Definitely a maker.
She took us through three of her major projects and here are the notes I took during the talk:
Nikki is not a jeweller but is just starting as an Artist in Residence for the MA program.
I'd say she's a conceptual artist with an engineering background (yay). Definitely a maker.
She took us through three of her major projects and here are the notes I took during the talk:
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Colony
Wriggling "critters” that react to how built up the city environment is. Can you see the sky? Can you see your friends? Where the Sky Widens Workshop to assemble geometric pods that jiggle when pointing towards a place that "pulls on the participants heart strings.” Orrery for Landscape, Sinew and Serendipity Long distance, endurance cycle journeys & races. Runs off GPS tracking data. Metronome that counts out miles. Headwind-ometer, "whee” when over a certain speed. |
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All three of these projects she considers "permission objects". A third entity that cause two strangers to interact.
So Nikki has expanded the term "orrey” to mean “a mechanical representation of ANY path, not just the planets round the sun. Months later, Shinobu and I cornered Nikki as she setup one of her critters for the Air’s exhibition in the atrium. Like a geeky fangirl, I gushed over her about my own orrery and promised/threatened to show her when it was finished. |
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