THE MACHINE IN THE GARDEN incorporates the motif of 'See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil', as the final image on which each video display comes to rest. When the viewer approaches the installation they see, on three video displays, the same woman's face with hands covering her eyes, ears, or mouth. Pulling the slot machine lever to activate the installation, video from three thematic areas begins to scroll: imagery of war and destruction; talking heads of politicians, game show hosts and religious figures on the second video display; and childrens' programming and television commercials on the third. Simulating the action of a casino slot machine, the scrolling of the imagery gradually builds in speed, stopping in staggered sequence, on one of nine possible combinations of the woman's face. Juxtaposition of video/audio is available in 729 possible combinations, based on a random program. Video/audio from three videodisc players is routed through a custom-designed A/V controller to the video displays.
Nancy Paterson |
