Utility fabrication shop fan, laser etched peg board, brass and steel blade handmade blade/impeller assembly, machining symbols for widening guides, automatic control, calibration, aiming beam, and “plug in”
4' x 4' x 2'
I’ve begun thinking of instructions for machining as similar to spiritual instructions and have found symbols from fabrication machines that speak to spiritual guidance. To the average viewer, this language of symbols is cryptic and inaccessible. I wanted to play with that, and see if the spirit of the symbols’ meanings could be suggested without direct communication. When the audience saw this fan with altered contents just in reach of an outlet, they were quickly inclined to plug it in, following the instructions of a repeating symbol without being aware that they had subliminally read it while looking at the object still. The prominently repeating instruction telling them to “plug-in” is a term often associated with new-age spiritualism. When the viewer plugs in, the blades’ spinning makes it so they can no longer be seen, only felt and smelt, allowing the aura to become more visible than the physical. In the nature of ephemeral spiritual experiences, the moment could not be sustained. As the exhibition ended, the blades flew off the motor to the edges of the cage, leaving its destroyed state the only form to document. I hold on to the unplanned outcome as a significant moment in my practice because of its reminder to me, that as much as I try to direct my spiritual practice, attempting to control the unworldly can end in a quick demonstration of my limitations.