Abstract

The project explores the world of the Automata, in particular 18th Century precedents and vivisections of found toys. Through the reverse engineering process, a focus in research emerged: the uncanny. My initial focus was on the movement of these Automata, and what was it about the actions of these somewhat aesthetically life like figures that evoke such a ‘pleasurable’ response from the public. For me it’s this uncanny movement of the automaton that responds to our psyche. Freud and Jentsch define the uncanny as a response to the unfamiliar, the ‘unhomely’, a fear of the unknown. Freud relates this human response to a human repression of familiar elements of our childhood that are now reintroduced out of context. A human response is seen in public reaction to Descartes’ mechanized doll of his late daughter, and the talking doll of Thomas Edison. The following project explores these issues of uncanny and artificial intelligence through the production of a ‘monster’.

The monster is a working model for acquiring random, self-motivated movement. Beginning with a collection of toys, the parts have been reduced to the simple gear and motor cases that will create their movement. Photovoltaic sensors are used to stimulate movement within each device, from its exterior environment. Interfacing becomes a lesson in switches, where my project focuses on the production of tilt switches to create a variety in movement. The switch becomes a synaptic charge within the beast, in the hopes of stimulating self-directed movement. Further development focuses on the creation of a proscenium for the device, too work towards allowing the ‘autistic child’ to interact more deeply with the inhabitants of its space. My interest lies in the uncanny response, and how this issue of interface can be applied to architectural form. I have chosen trace experiments and analysis as one way of exploring the relationship between beast, its stage and the site around it.