Tin Machine

David Bowie was one of my very first big heroes. I followed his music career closely, and have spent many happy hours in the presence of his music. I was particularly fond of his Tin Machine band (1988 – 1992) and the accompanying live video ‘Oy Vey Baby’.

I have been making these interactive, kinetic musical machines for a few years, and dedicate this one to the memory and genius of David Bowie. It functions on various levels: purely aesthetically as a complex set of interlaced elements; kinetically as a set of moving gears with cause-and-effect motions; and performatively as a potential way of composing and performing sequenced musical sounds. The sculpture is completely interactive. It requires the viewer to set it in motion, with the further possibilities of “programming” the sequences of sounds by placing pins in the barrels, and even further, by bringing the various instruments in and out of play in real time.