Category: Ant Ballet

FutureEverything in not-quite-3D

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I know not everyone can make it to Manchester for FutureEverything, so took a couple of panoramic photosynths so that everyone can join in the fun. The exhibition is in the world’s first railway warehouse, so it’s a nice contrast between the peak of 1830’s physical technology and 2012’s (mostly) virtual!

First up is the elevator that takes people from the ground floor to the exhibition:

It’s been designed by Jörn Röder and Jonathan Pimay. Called fbFaces, it is the result of a script that trawled the web for public photos of people from and related to Manchester. There’s something of a Philip K Dick novel/Keiichi Matsuda experience in being surrounded by so many little avatars…

Secondly, here’s my Ant Ballet installation:

It has four screens showing documentary footage and theory about Ant Ballet, and a floating circular screen in the middle of the space with a robotic arm and simulation of ant trail following and disruption.

On the other side of the room is Brendan Oliver and Kasia Molga‘s The…. Based around David Bohm‘s philosophy that no human thought can be original, but rather a result of other thoughts in the world, it presents visitors with poetic (and non-Justin Bieber-related) Twitter feeds that are sent from one viewers’ shadow to another.

Unfortunately I didn’t have exhibition features numerous other works by artists such as Lawrence Epps, Jeremy Hutchison, Daniel Jones + James Bulley and more. It is open from the 18th May – 10th June at the Museum of Science and Industry

Ant Ballet Photosynth

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For anyone who hasn’t had a chance to see my Ant Ballet installation currently in ZSL London Zoo, here are a couple of Photosynths that enable you to navigate the area!

The BUGS house

The installation is aptly in the BUGS house – celebrating the diversity of invertebrate life. The building itself is modelled after a termite nest, using a passive ventilation system to regulate the interior temperature and airflow.

The installation

The installation is in near to the leafcutter ants, locusts, and cockroaches, in an ‘exclusion zone’ tent.

The installation is going to be there until the 11th of May, so head on down to the zoo if you want to find out more!

Ant Ballet in Wired UK

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Ant Ballet was featured in Wired UK today:

To collect the ants, he had to take a manual vacuum device — essentially a tube that goes into a container and then another tube from that container to the collector’s mouth. The person sucks air in through the upper tube, which draws ants into the container. A gauze layer prevents any ants going into the collector’s mouth. However the scent they emit “tastes very bitter”. “After three days of sucking up ants you sure know about it,” Palmer told Wired.co.uk.

Read the full article here.

Dorkbot 79

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I’ll be talking about ants, machines and ballet at dorkbot 79 next week.

When

19:00-21:00, 28 March 2012

Where

MAT Lab, Room G2 Engineering Building, Queen Mary, University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Nearest tube: Stepney Green / Mile End
Walk up or down Mile End Road until you’re between Bancroft Road and The Queen’s Building. There’s a glass storefront with orange benches and people milling about looking studious. That’s the entrance. There should be a ‘dorkbot’ sign there.

Lineup

See you there!

Facebook event

Ant Ballet at FutureEverything

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My Ant Ballet installation is featured in FutureEverything‘s art show this summer, from the 16 May to the 10 June 2012.

The festival was recently listed among the top 10 ideas festivals, scattered in a plethora of interesting venues around Manchester. My installation is be in the world’s first railway warehouse building in the Museum of Science and Industry – a showcase of the future, from a building that built Britain’s past.

Entry to the art exhibition is free! Visit FutureEverything’s site for details.

The exhibition at FutureEverything has been gaining a lot of press recently – see the Press page for more.