MI Machine
Text by: Sara Brašnović, Adriana Sudarić
“MI” presents an idea of the machine as a hybrid conglomerate, an equal member of the environment in which the man no longer assumes the position of a privileged being. The machine acts independently; it actively reasons in the dynamic interdependence of all the elements in its environment by connecting different functions and constructive parts. The potentially proactive, autonomous being with all sorts of iterations, which acts and functions together with other machines, becomes a medium and a symbol of the relationship between the man and the machine. The reconciliation of the subject-object issue in the sense of the technological and the biological is viewed from the ecological perspective as the relationship between the organism and the respective environment. The object which was born as a technical innovation contains within it a part of the human being, of its creator; something human is a part of every technical being. Our coexistence takes place in the same environment.
The ecological concept of the ecosystem network, the continuous reciprocal interaction of elements and the autonomy of individual action erase the “anthropocentric regime of domination and hierarchy,” thereby encouraging a new perspective on the communication between the man and the machine. Hence, a part of the art work is executed through graphic representation of the physical and mental anatomy of the machine. “MI” yields insight into the relationship between the man and the machine, that is, between the biological and the technical. The construct of subjectivity is radically challenged – the environment in which the machine exists (including the visitors) becomes transindividual. Its mutual interobjective actions directly condition the activity of the machine; we are all needed for it to start and function. The interaction with the object sparks curiosity and encourages engagement; the sensors are the link between the physical aspect of the gallery space and the digital sphere, which we affect via a chain reaction of invisible communication. This effect of the art work takes place directly in the gallery, but also indirectly through a website which lets the visitor decide if they are willing or not to participate in the activity of the machine. The visitor is allowed to affect the motion of the object by changing its state from static to dynamic and, despite the lack of awareness of the consequences of their action, becomes an important part of the functioning of the machine. With the hidden interaction of “MI” and the visitors, the machine independently lets the world know that it is not alone.
The object in the shape of a cube assumes a role of the heart which beats every time the button is pressed. It shows the visitors that the machine is a living mechanism we are all part of. It is only when all elements of the machine are activated that the idea is expressed in its entirety. The circle of joint action is temporarily closed, only to be repeated again with the next visitor. The machine as an object but also as a subject is completely open and susceptible to its surroundings, which lays the groundwork for the new subjectivity without discrimination. What is more, it maintains social relations with individual subjects. The differentiation of being – machine or being – subject no longer describes the final product we get to manage; anthropocentricity is now replaced by the ecological-mechanical process. The tangible proof that the machine is more than capable to change, adapt, affect and be affected is the concept of “MI”; the proof that the machines are definitely not alone.
