Go and Eye Will Follow (The Whirligig), 2023, latex paint on canvas stretched over metal drum, motion sensor, steel control box, wood, 61” x 28” x 28”
Collaboration with my grandfather William Forbes, a retired mechanical engineer. Speed control box was fabricated by Midbrook LLC in Jackson, Michigan
When I brought this idea to my grandfather, Bill Forbes (a retired mechanical engineer), I simply asked him if it’d be possible to have some sort of spinning drum activated by motion sensor. I had been reading about our perception of moving objects and became interested in the almost involuntary act of following the path of that object’s motion with our eyes. In doing so, the eyes are attempting to get the most still and clear retinal image of that object to send to the brain. As the pattern spins around you’ll find it quite difficult to look at the piece straight on without moving your eyes along with it. The motion sensor activation requires a person’s physical presence in order for the piece to kick on, further leaning into the general goal of my work to pull people into the moment and to be more in tune with the many physiological and psychological nuances that occur when we process sensory information.