The artist and videographer Peter William Holden draws his influence from electronic subculture and street culture. He imagines devices at the crossroads between engineering, illusion and the art of physical movement. This combination of new technologies and "old mechanics" gives birth to large-scale robotic choreographies that the artist compares to contemporary mandalas.
A fervent follower of the DIY movement,
of salvaging and repurposing, the artist first and foremost gives life to his works in his own mind; the mechanical solutions always follow an abstract artistic approach. Peter William Holden's mechanical sculptures have been exhibited in various festivals and cultural centres across the globe.
Peter William
Holden
Artist
Hours and dates
3 Nov. 10:00 am - 12 Nov. 6:00 pm
The place
Grand Manège
Language
English
About
Peter William Holden
Medias
The exhibition
Autogene
It all started with a vision. One day, Peter William Holden paused in front of the daily spectacle of umbrellas opening and closing under a capricious sky. And with that, an idea was born: a ballet of umbrellas. Autogene is a robot made of eight umbrellas attached to a circular system of air hoses and electric cables. A central computer controls and stimulates the arrangement, transforming the presumably mundane umbrellas into magical kinetic objects. The result is a circular choreography that evolves and is governed by a seemingly naïve accompanying music. The artist allures the viewer into a false sense of security, which is then, at the flick of a switch, rapidly dispelled. The dance is ephemeral, and its patterns fleeting.