As part of a current exhibition held at The Lowry, which gathers together artists who use banal objects or deceptively simple actions to turn the everyday into art, Berlin-based Polish artist Karina Smigla-Bobinski exhibits ADA, a giant interactive analogue installation.
Inspired by Ada Lovelace, the first person to programme a computer, Ada will be an automatic drawing machine. Visitors to ExtraOrdinary will be invited to interact with the work which is made from a gigantic translucent ball and charcoal.
The sculpture manifests itself as a large, clear helium-filled membrane studded with charcoal spikes, roaming freely within a white room. Users are encouraged to engage with the object by pushing and spinning it as it floats within the space, where the walls then slowly accumulate marks and flecks.
The globe put in action, fabricate a composition of lines and points, which remains incalculable in their intensity, expression, form however hard the visitor tries to control ADA. Whatever he tries out, he would notice very soon, that ADA is an independent performer, studding the originaly white walls with drawings and signs.
Playful, imaginative and interactive, the exhibition — titled “Extraordinary: Everyday objects & actions in contemporary art“, that brings together artists from the UK and Europe, will present until October 18, 2015, artworks in an engaging and imaginative way, allowing visitors to interact and contribute to the fabric of the exhibition through selected works while offering further activities and inspiration for families of all ages.
all images courtesy of The Lowry