Overview

Fish-Bird Circle B-Movement C is an interactive installation that explores the dialogical possibilities between two autokinetic objects (two robotic wheelchairs) and their audience. Assisted by integrated writing arms, the chairs write intimate letters on the floor, impersonating two characters, Fish and Bird, who fall in love but cannot be together due to ‘technical’ difficulties. In their shared isolation, Fish and Bird communicate intimately with one another via movement and text.

To place Fish-Bird within a contemporary art context, we argue that it confronts major continuing issues and concerns regarding interaction through the human/machine interface. The dialogical approach taken in this project both requires and fosters notions of trust and shared intimacy. It is intended that the technology used in the project will be largely transparent to the audience.

^*The Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) is a partner in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems. Dr Mari Velonaki (Media Artist), Dr David Rye (Roboticist), Dr Steve Scheding (Roboticist) and Dr Stefan Williams (Roboticist) form the core art/science collaboration at ACFR. Areas of research include robotics, distributed and decentralised systems and human/machine interaction.

Produced with the assistance of a Linkage Grant from the Australian Research Council. Industry Partners: Australia Council for the Arts; Artspace Sydney; Australian Network for Art and Technology; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Patrick Systems and Technology, and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at The University of Sydney.