boxes

collding boxes.

copper, steel, bronze, and stainless boxes, 30-60cms in height, are cut and welded together from sheet, then collided head-on using large machines built specifically for this purpose.   this is filmed with 16mm slow motion movie film cameras, and sound is recorded with microphones located both outside and within the boxes.

in each collision a negotiation takes place, violent energies meeting, playing out an intense conversation in excess force and eventual deformation.

these are complex, labour-intensive experiments – welded boxes, purpose made machines, specialised film cameras, high intensity lighting, expired film stocks, an array of microphones recording through analog and digital technologies….   processes are carried out by hand wherever possible – cutting and welding thin sheet, designing and constructing large colliding machines, hand-developing and scanning kilometres of 16mm film, recording and stretching out audio to accurately match the film speed, and the compiling and editing of the final work.   the colliding machines built for these experiments have been through 3 iterations over several years – steel monsters from 3 to 4 metres in length, powered by large tanks of compressed air, or compressed car suspension springs…

the motion cameras used to film the work were sourced secondhand from NASA and various crash test laboratories, made in the 50’s and still working, with a little help….   they run complex pathways of film at insane speeds, the newer NAC camera actually moving the film across the gate at a quarter the speed of sound…

the sound of the collisions is a direct record of the vibrations at the moment of collision.   the rippling of the sheet as the boxes meet, radiating out into air as sound and pressure waves.   these vibrations are captured with standard microphones on stands, and with piezo film elements inside the boxes.   the original sound is stretched out to match the speed of the film, slowing it around 40 times, digitally, or on a 1/4″ otari tape deck….