Machine (2007)

The concept ‘machine’ can exist as both a noun and verb; either as a contrivance to perform a particular function, or the process of converting a material from one form to another. By juxtaposing natural and artificial materials Machine references interrelationships between society and nature resources. Greyed eucalypt branches become ‘metal shafts’ in an allusion to the natural environment as the source of all raw materials. However despite resembling a machine, Machine does not work, the ‘gears’ do not engage and the ‘shafts’ will not turn. This lack of kinetic motion in a form usually associated with movement becomes a means of questioning society’s interaction with the natural environment – particularly the way humans make use of natural resources and our ultimate dependence on them.