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. Using these symbols once before, and was told that they were cryptic and inaccessible. I wanted to play with that, and see if the spirit of the symbols’ meanings could be understood even if it wasn’t directly communicated. 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 the design without being aware that they had subliminally received the instruction. The prominently repeating instruction told them to “plug-in,” a term often used in new-age spiritual texts. 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. While this outcome was not planned, I hold on to the experience as a significant moment in my practice because of its reminder to me, that as much as I try to direct a spiritual practice, I am not in complete control.