»Arabesque« 
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© Peter William Holden / Photos : Medial Mirage - Matthias Möller; Photo : Medial Mirage / Matthias Möller
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Peter William Holden 29-05-2019
With "Arabesque" I have concerned myself not only with the sculpting of three dimensions but also with a fourth, the dimension of time. I have endeavored to create a sculpture that evolves transforms and even regresses. An artwork that falls somewhere in between conventional notions of pictorial art and performance. “Arabesque” as its roots in Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” (1818) and the alchemist’s laboratory, this kinetic sculpture presents itself as a mechanical flower, a simulacrum of nature. Life-sized human body parts (incidentally casts of my own body), impaled upon steel, move and sway and dance. The limbs, translucent and livid, bare their internal robotic mechanisms to the gaze of the viewer. The wiring itself is an aesthetic expression deliberately integrated into the installation to bring chaotic lines of abstract form to contrast with the organized symmetry of the body parts. The lifeblood of this organism is air when activated air flows invisibly, bestowing movement to these mechanisms and its presence is only betrayed when exhaled loudly from the valves attached to the serpentine air hose. This combined with the rattle of relays and the tandem clattering of pistons to produce a hyper-modern accompaniment to the music of Strauss.
When in motion "Arabesque" becomes a time-based performance and the view from above, projected onto a nearby screen, reveals a kaleidoscope of beautiful patterns and shapes created from the human form.
Peter William Holden: Arabesque, 29-05-2019, in: Archive of Digital Art With "Arabesque" I have concerned myself not only with the sculpting of three dimensions but also with a fourth, the dimension of time. I have endeavored to create a sculpture that evolves transforms and even regresses. An artwork that falls somewhere in between conventional notions of pictorial art and performance. “Arabesque” as its roots in Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” (1818) and the alchemist’s laboratory, this kinetic sculpture presents itself as a mechanical flower, a simulacrum of nature. Life-sized human body parts (incidentally casts of my own body), impaled upon steel, move and sway and dance. The limbs, translucent and livid, bare their internal robotic mechanisms to the gaze of the viewer. The wiring itself is an aesthetic expression deliberately integrated into the installation to bring chaotic lines of abstract form to contrast with the organized symmetry of the body parts. The lifeblood of this organism is air when activated air flows invisibly, bestowing movement to these mechanisms and its presence is only betrayed when exhaled loudly from the valves attached to the serpentine air hose. This combined with the rattle of relays and the tandem clattering of pistons to produce a hyper-modern accompaniment to the music of Strauss.
When in motion "Arabesque" becomes a time-based performance and the view from above, projected onto a nearby screen, reveals a kaleidoscope of beautiful patterns and shapes created from the human form.
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