Ashley Hi, A Video of Pigeons, 2019. Lenticular prints, micro servos, Arduino UNO boards, acrylic sheets. 36 (L) x 36 (H) x 5 (W) cm each. Installation view, Deviations, curated by Berny Tan, at Hoxton Road, London, 2019. Courtesy of the curator and the artist. Photo by Elizabeth Gabrielle Lee.
Despite its title, A Video of Pigeons is not a video, but an emulation of one– a kinetic sculpture that mechanically animates lenticular prints of pigeons taking flight. The work presents a non-digital animation in the form of the lenticular print, which the viewer usually has to physically shift to see the illusion of movement. Yet, here that act itself has been mechanised. Each print is attached to a servo that moves them from side to side, electronically controlled by Arduino boards. The work has thus deconstructed, and recombined the "video" medium in the space between analogue and digital. Placed in a cluster on the floor just inside the storefront window, and within sight of the street where pigeons might gather, the installation engages in a humorous double mimicry: the sculpture pretends to be both video and a flock of pigeons, even as we are fully aware that it is not fooling anyone.
Lenticular prints, micro servos, Arduino UNO boards, acrylic sheets
36 (L) x 36 (H) x 5 (W) cm (4 sets)
2019
<aside> 👀 This work was made for a group exhibition titled Deviations in 2019. Read about the exhibition here.
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