DON'T TOUCH
ME, I'M SCARED

Fly, an artwork by design studio Random Internatinal, came to my mind. This is the description on their website:

“Fly studies the movement of objects and insects within a confined space. An abstract representation of a fly is held captive inside a glass box, centrally ensnared by eight cables. The behaviour of this fly is controlled by a unique and autonomous algorithm, accurately simulating the observed behaviour of real flies. The fly has the freedom to move anywhere within its box, but lacks spatial reference. RANDOM INTERNATIONAL has applied this pattern of movement to an inanimate object, as though it were trapped beneath a watch-glass; exploring not only the behaviour of objects but also that of humans. When the fly senses the presence of a person at its perimeter, it changes the demeanour of its flight in response. This continuing physical interplay of action and reaction can offer a new perspective to our own behaviour, its effects, and apparent freedom, in the current age. Fly premiered at the 4th Moscow Biennial of Contemporary Art, curated by Peter Weibel.”

Fly reminded me of how a timidly pet. It's curious, but scared to come close, to touch. The patience you sometimes need to have when meeting someones dog, or cat for the first time. You need to earn their trust. After all, you might be dangerous.

Thinking about mechanisms of animals to keep you at distance, I also though of the work of Zimoun. He builds, as written on his website: architecturally-minded platforms of sound. I find that his seemingly- simple findings create a soundscapes in its multiplicity. Some installations giving a sense of comfort, others might tend to be more warning. Like a cat that purrs, or hisses.

During my bachelor Product Design at ArtEZ, I created a video as a prelimenary study that, I believe, represents a moment you can have with an animal that you meet for the first time. I thought of it again, as it might be relevant for this project to show this video.

For me, especially at the time when I had no knowledge whatsover about electronics, film is a way for me to be able to very quickly create an idea, a feeling or a character as a study for a further to be developed project.