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Narva Artist Residency, Estonia, July-August 2024
"Orchestrated Obsolescence" public space art project developed at Narva Artist Residency, Estonia through July and August 2024, with the support of Culture Moves Europe.
An orchestra of obsolete and unwanted technological products, found in the city or donated by the local community, are reanimated by the gestures of the visitors to Astri Keskus, the main shopping centre in the city. Through this, these worthless objects and waste are reappraised and reevaluated in a fun and engaging way.
Opening event on 24th August at Astri Keskus, Narva, EE
Opening event on 24th August at Astri Keskus, Narva, EE
Opening event on 24th August at Astri Keskus, Narva, EE
Opening event on 24th August at Astri Keskus, Narva, EE
Above: Photographs of the opening event on 24th August 2024, photos courtesy NART, plus two videos (best maximised to full screen) of the separate elements and sections of the installation at Astri Keskus and final tests to ensure all sensors were functioning prior to the opening.
My project proposal was one of three selected by Narva Artist Residency to make an artwork to be presented in a public space. I proposed to make a kinetic artwork reusing donated obsolete and unwanted technological products, which I would dismantle and reconfigure, and somehow protect from the weather if installed outdoors. As you will see below, the project took a different but very engaging path than I had begun planning.
Left: Two floppy disc drives opened and upended to show the centrifugal flywheel, centre: Three turntables were repaired and have small speakers adapted to be microphones amplify their movements, right: A collection of CRT TV sets are activated to display 'static' which new flat screen TVs do not show.
The Collection
I thankfully had the period of research and development in Finland at Serlachius Residency in June to both work with sensors to activate mains powered devices and collect a few objects to include in the project for Narva Artist Residency but required more, which somehow didn't come in the beginning. I was able to access the abandoned offices of Baltijets and scavenged numerous intercoms, computers and what seems to be a ticker tape puncher.
I then opened the studio space for a weekend so the local community could come and donate their unwanted products, but this was not so successful. But thankfully a volunteer for NART, Reinhold Oster, brought a few things I could use and a mystery donor left things outside for me. Somehow Venjamin of SDM Recycling saw I needed things and brought two vanloads of objects such as old Soviet vacuum cleaners, TVs, radios, etc. so the collection finally started to grow. I also sourced a few items from Sõbralt Sõbrale and Kauplus Buratino, two second hand stores here in Narva that have many old electronic products, but I really wanted people to bring things to be added to the collection.
Finally things did arrive and I received a TV from a resident of Kulgu (Narva Venice), a TV and music system from Tatjana Sokolova, a number of items that were once part of the stock of a second hand shop run by Dmitri Krugljakov and many interesting things from Laila Meister (mother of NART director Johanna Ranula).
The Process
Once the work is installed I will be adding to this section to describe the stages of the project, decisions made and led by the collection, and afterthoughts on the whole process. To be continued...
