An hourglass iPhone created with ground up iPhones, referencing the ´Will it Blend´ series of internet videos (www.willitblend.com). The artist Evan Yee describes how its ´more than a message to the world about technology, I have questions to the viewers about what their experience with tech is. I try and make my work recognizable in form by making references to apple, oculus rift, drones.. etc. For example, one piece is an hourglass shaped like an iPhone, but instead of sand, the hourglass is filled with ground up iPhones. The physical aesthetic of the piece is an appropriation from the iPhone 5, while the hourglass shape is a reference to time and mortality. Thus the piece becomes an urn for the outdated iPhone.´
The work is part of a satirical installation originally called ´The App Store´ is a mock Apple Store which is currently at The Fueled Collective shared workspace. There are a selection of gadgets exhibited which are a critique on startups and tech culture and, ironically, are inside a tech collective.
There is a fun exhibit entitled the Nocuous Rift, which is the artists and seems to be the visitors favourite because of its elegance and conciseness. As an appropriation from the well-known Oculus Rift, it is made out of cardboard and duct tape, then cast in solid aluminum. The result is an extremely heavy pair of virtual reality goggles. Unlike the Oculus Rift (https://www.oculus.com) , this version uses two iPhones on camera mode, so that when you look through the lenses, you're seeing a combination of 2 iPhone screens seeing in front of you. Very much like an old stereoscope, the images merge and become 3D.
The artist has created an impressive critique on tech culture and he himself is aware of our complete dependency of technology. He describes how he himself cannot imagine a world without technology! : ´We are a race of progress.. and while we might need to curb our habits, I don't believe technology is a bad thing. Yes it can lead to scary ideas of what privacy, warfare, passivity will look like in the future. However, what about the progress of biotechnology, our ability to spend time doing the things we want, because simple menial tasks are taken care of for us. Convenience is a double edged sword. The question is where are we going next? What's the next big break through?´
The #pinwheelofdeath has never been so alive! The Desktop version is timeless, housed in a milled and hand mirror polished aluminum body and behind crystal clear glass. It is a backlit vinyl print of the Pinwheel of Death with a spinning shadow behind. The perfect analog imitation of the most insidious symbol for waiting.
Don´t wait any longer! Check out this fun installation at:
The Fueled Collective
Broadway,
New York NY 10012
http://fueled.com/coworking-space-nyc/
contact number 800.962.4587
Written by the artist, reviewer and Phd Researcher Natasha Hall www.natasha-hall.com
