↳THE PROJECT RACEFUL DEAD ANALYZES CONTEMPORARY HUMAN–TECHNOLOGY RELATIONS, FOCUSING ON THE TENSION BETWEEN SUPPORT AND OPPRESSION, ACCELERATION AND OVERLOAD. IT OFFERS BOTH A PHYSICAL AND SYMBOLIC TAKE ON AMBITION WITHIN THE DROMOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE WORLD AND LATE CAPITALISM, WHERE TECHNOLOGIES ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO ASSIST, WHETHER ON THE LEVEL OF THE BODY OR PERCEPTION, CAN BECOME BURDENS, PARASITES IMPOSING THEIR OWN LOGIC OF OPERATION.
ON BOTH THE VISUAL AND CONCEPTUAL LEVELS, THE WORK EXTENDS MY PREVIOUS REFLECTIONS ON ARMOR, PROTECTIVE LAYERS, AND DEFENSE STRATEGIES, BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL. THE INSTALLATION REFERS TO THE PRIMAL NEED TO SAFEGUARD THE BODY AGAINST THREAT, WHILE ALSO EXPOSING HOW DEFENSE MECHANISMS CAN BECOME TOOLS OF OPPRESSION AND ISOLATION. ITS FORMAL INSPIRATIONS INCLUDE MOTORCYCLE ARMOR, THE AERODYNAMIC BODYWORK OF MOTORBIKES AND SCOOTERS, AS WELL AS THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF RUNNING BACKPACKS, WHICH ARE MEANT TO OPTIMIZE MOVEMENT WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY IMPOSING ADDITIONAL WEIGHT.
FORMALLY, THE INSTALLATION ALSO REFERS TO THE RUNNING MAN MOTIF FROM THE 1987 ANIMATED ANTHOLOGY NEO TOKYO. THE HUMANOID FIGURE IS SHOWN IN A RUNNING POSTURE, WHICH SYMBOLICALLY REFERENCES THE PHYSICAL EFFORT OF THE BODY AS AN INDIVIDUAL STRUGGLE, BUT ALSO AS A MODE OF MOVEMENT WITHOUT MECHANICAL OR ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION. ATTACHED TO THE FIGURE’S BACK IS AN OBJECT RESEMBLING A BACKPACK. ITS FUNCTION REMAINS AMBIGUOUS: IT CAN BE INTERPRETED EITHER AS A SUPPORTING ELEMENT OR AS A PARASITIC STRUCTURE, POTENTIALLY HELPFUL YET SIMULTANEOUSLY INVASIVE OR BURDENSOME. THE INSTALLATION IS EQUIPPED WITH SENSORS THAT DETECT PRESENCE AND MOTION AROUND THE SCULPTURE.
THE SPACE SURROUNDING THE FIGURE IS DIVIDED INTO INTERACTION ZONES, EACH TRIGGERING A DIFFERENT SET OF RESPONSES. THE OBJECT PERFORMS MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS AND EMITS SOUNDS WHOSE INTENSITY AND CHARACTER CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO THE VIEWER’S INTERACTION. THE SOUND MATERIAL CONSISTS OF SAMPLES OF MACHINES, ANIMALS, AND INTERFACE SIGNALS, PROCESSED THROUGH AN AI MODEL. APPROACHING THE INSTALLATION ACTIVATES MORE INTENSE, AGGRESSIVE SEQUENCES AND CAUSES THE OBJECT TO CLOSE ITSELF. PHYSICAL CONTACT INDUCES A TREMBLING MOTION.
THE PROJECT WAS DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH M.SC. ENG. FRANCISZEK SOBIECH FROM THE FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC, COMPUTER AND CONTROL ENGINEERING, LODZ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY.
〔OBJECT, 3D RESIN PRINT, 54 × 29 × 34 CM〕
〔SENSORS, RASPBERRY PI, 4× LD2410C FMCW RADAR, ST3215 SERVO〕
〔FOAM, PVC, METAL FRAME, TEXTILE, 82 × 48 × 130 CM〕
