knife.hand.chop.bot
"knife.hand.chop.bot" (2007) is an interactive installation by 5VOLTCORE. It was part of the DEAF07 exhibition.
knife.hand.chop.bot
knife.hand.chop.bot is a cybernetic system that plays with the senses and perceptions of the user. A robot is equipped with a knife, to simulate the test of courage known as "Mumbledy Peg". A user puts a hand in the machine and starts the knife game at the push of a button. The knife starts to hit the space between the fingers, first slowly, then faster and faster. In case the user can’t keep his or her cool and start to sweat, contacts are activated, and the computer is disrupted.
Who shows the greatest disregard for the danger of injury? Who can keep a cool head the longest? Human beings can keep up appearances, carrying on while their bodies tells a different story -- when you become anxious, nervous or frightened, you begin to sweat. The collective 5VOLTCORE, made up of several artists whose interests include circuit-bending and lo-fi technology, have built a machine for testing how well you keep your nerves under control. You place your hand on a table under a machine to which a knife is attached. You splay your fingers, and the knife starts to tap the table between them, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. The table measures the moisture on your hands. When you start to sweat, contacts are activated and the machine starts to act strangely and is disrupted. This is direct interaction -- based not on conscious choices by the user but on physiological data over which he or she has much less (or no) control. The system is simple, but the machine challenges you.
