Exitium Sui: Self Destruction. 2021. Interactive installation (scrap metal, cardboard boxes, electronic components, sensor ultrasonic HC-SR04 and Arduino UNO). Dimensions: 60cm width, 88cm length, 42cm height. Exhibited at Cuando el corazón late como un ladrillo, LATU, Montevideo 2022.
The artwork consists of two machines constructed from scrap metal and various objects found in a junkyard. A ready-made in which servomotors installed in its parts will strike. A programmed and repeated movement that will cause both machines to act and retract. The work aims to expose the effort of the machines to destroy themselves, to become material, to cling to the world, and to corrupt their longevity.
This project addresses the ephemeral and transient nature of life through materials. Death and time are two indispensable poles in human life, but not so for objects. Machines, robots, they have their useful life, their functions, and their tasks, but their inability to feel the passage of time, loss, anguish, and the fragility of life makes us irreplaceable. The wear and tear of time on people, the memory of a past life, slowly turning to dust; these are anxieties that all human beings go through. The machine can survive and be invincible to death; it is immortal. That's why my work aims to expose the effort of machines to destroy themselves, to become material, to cling to the world, and to corrupt their longevity.
The materials in my work allude to the idea of the wear and tear of time, of forgetfulness. They are scraps that have lost their purpose and are no longer useful. The pieces that do remain alive and move make an effort to destroy themselves and break apart. It is an installation that, from its foundation, conveys this concept of deterioration and discard.
The artwork aims to be a performative installation with an undetermined duration. Its primary goal is to capture the viewer's attention, compelling them to stop. The programmed and repeated movement of the machines will attempt to induce a hypnotic state in people so that they can feel or reflect on the work, the effort that the machines make to destroy themselves; something inherently distressing. Furthermore, attention will be generated by the time it takes for them to break and the different sounds they produce when colliding with various materials. The work is designed to be long and enduring, so the viewer will stay, waiting with intrigue for the ending, the outcome, which one will break first. Additionally, considering its relationship with the environment, if participants approach the work and remain within the predefined range, they can stop the strikes. This allows each person to have the opportunity to halt the destruction for as long as they desire.
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