Modus Mutus
Modus Mutus (silent system), 2004, are silent healing machines. The installations, "Cupping Chair" and Acupuncture Table" are machines that have speculative functions. They reflect a view of the body in contemporary life as a wholly repairable entity; an object able to regenerate itself and therefore capable of avoiding death. The silence of the works highlights the fragility of life and the inevitability of death.
"Acupuncture Table" and "Cupping Chair" represent a compilation of various systems that "move" and adapt to one another. They imply references to ancient Incan Khipus, steriocilia, electrical systems, data language , brain function and circulatory systems. The work is organized into areas of information receptors and transmitters.
Acupuncture relies on the skill of the healer, the transmitter, to realign and thereby heal the interior energy (CHI) of the patient, the receptor. Cupping is an equally traditional healing practice. It uses glass cups that are heated and placed directly on the patient. The inverted cup forms a vacuum that is meant to draw out the poisons from the body.
The areas of transmitters and receptors are evident in "Acupuncture Table." The knotted cords at the top of the tower calls forth the work of anthropologist Gary Urton with Incan Khipus. Khipus are multi-stranded wands where each string contains individual knots. Dr. Urton views the knots as the first known three-dimensional language. The knots in "Acupuncture Table" can also be viewed as open and closed pathways in information flow. The lower area of the tower contains a wall of black hairs that suggest the steriocilia, the minute hairs of the inner ear. They are the venue through which the brain interprets sound. The acupuncture table, with its traditional chart of Chi points, is transmitter and receptor simultaneously.
The drawings in "Cupping Chair" are a schema of informational movement between body and machine. The drawings organize an exchange between imagery based in medical imaging, logic boards and biological systems.
The speculative interactions between the drawings and the tubing and cables of the installation create a silence that reflects our awe when facing the profundity of death.
"Acupuncture Table" and "Cupping Chair" represent a compilation of various systems that "move" and adapt to one another. They imply references to ancient Incan Khipus, steriocilia, electrical systems, data language , brain function and circulatory systems. The work is organized into areas of information receptors and transmitters.
Acupuncture relies on the skill of the healer, the transmitter, to realign and thereby heal the interior energy (CHI) of the patient, the receptor. Cupping is an equally traditional healing practice. It uses glass cups that are heated and placed directly on the patient. The inverted cup forms a vacuum that is meant to draw out the poisons from the body.
The areas of transmitters and receptors are evident in "Acupuncture Table." The knotted cords at the top of the tower calls forth the work of anthropologist Gary Urton with Incan Khipus. Khipus are multi-stranded wands where each string contains individual knots. Dr. Urton views the knots as the first known three-dimensional language. The knots in "Acupuncture Table" can also be viewed as open and closed pathways in information flow. The lower area of the tower contains a wall of black hairs that suggest the steriocilia, the minute hairs of the inner ear. They are the venue through which the brain interprets sound. The acupuncture table, with its traditional chart of Chi points, is transmitter and receptor simultaneously.
The drawings in "Cupping Chair" are a schema of informational movement between body and machine. The drawings organize an exchange between imagery based in medical imaging, logic boards and biological systems.
The speculative interactions between the drawings and the tubing and cables of the installation create a silence that reflects our awe when facing the profundity of death.
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