Robotic Birds, a Zoetrope, and Other Installations: Mat Collishaw in Moscow
‘Machine zone’ is a term describing the state gamblers enter when they are fully immersed in a game and the outside world recedes. The term is used to describe the addictive phenomenon caused by variable rewards. Players, not knowing what card is coming next or when they will be rewarded, are compelled to keep returning to the table. This psychological insight is used by software designers, who incorporate the concept into the mechanics of social media platforms. They have introduced functions such as comments, likes and shares to encourage users to return to a platform repeatedly to monitor their social media feeds. In his exhibition The Machine Zone, Mat Collishaw refers to our increasing dependence on the technology-driven world.
The Machine Zone (2019)—the piece that gives the exhibition its name—is an installation of robotic birds that perform repetitive movements. The work refers to the 1950s experiments of the American psychologist B.F. Skinner, in which he analysed the behaviour of pigeons and rats driven by a random reward system.
Using food, leverage, and other environmental factors, Skinner demonstrated that what was thought to be an independent response was in fact a conditioned reflex, and thereby called into question the seemingly immutable concept of free will.
The Centrifugal Soul (2016) is a large-scale zoetrope. In the centre of the zoetrope is a platform adorned with models of flowers and birds. The rotating platform is illuminated with flashes of strobe light every second, creating the illusion of movement as the birds hover over the opening buds and perform mating dances. Birds are programmed by nature to perform these courtship rituals to breed and maintain the species. According to Collishaw, technology companies have developed ways to capitalise on this natural instinct, encouraging us through social media and smartphones to constantly create and project an idealized version of ourselves, presenting ourselves to the outside world as more successful and desirable than we really are.
Alpha Omega ΑΩ (2016) is a visualisation of the human desire to conquer new spaces. In a video projected onto the glass of a discarded astronaut's helmet, the viewer sees an image of a chimpanzee peering curiously at the world on the other side of the glass. The artist believes that similarly, humans are eager to explore the world beyond their natural habitat and, driven by curiosity, set out to conquer space and colonise distant territories.
The exhibition also includes paintings by Mat Collishaw and a film about the artist’s work (in English with Russian subtitles) shown in a separate room.
Mat Collishaw formed part of the legendary movement of Young British Artists (YBA's). He was one of 16 young artists who participated in the seminal Freeze exhibition organised by Damien Hirst in 1988, as well as the provocative Sensation show of 1997. Mat Collishaw's works have been exhibited in numerous museums and public collections globally, including Tate, London; Galleria Borghese, Rome; The Brooklyn Museum, New York; MNAC, Barcelona; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Museum of Old and New Art, New South Wales; Olbricht Collection, Berlin; and The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
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Open until June 25, 2022.
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