The ghost in the machine - making art with Arduino

I am an artist, and I work a lot with e-waste. I like to dissect old tech and re-use the components in my work. I'm interested in exploring the relationship between our tangible physical world and the virtual world, and also the interfaces where the two meet.

Some months ago I was introduced to Arduino, as a tool that could add interactivity into my artwork and make it sensitive to its environment. I've found myself excited by the huge possibilities this technology offers to artists, but also somewhat overfaced by the range of new skills I need acquire to use it. This is an account of my first attempt to make a piece of artwork incorporating Arduino.

One of the main reasons I was attracted to Arduino is the way it would allow me to incorporate sensors into my work. This means I can and use the data picked up to trigger changes in the work. I love the idea of art that is aware of the viewer. One definition of a cyborg is a machine that changes its behavior based on environmental stimuli. I want my artworks to be cyborgs.

So I knew that I wanted some kind of people detection sensor in the piece, and that the presence of a viewer should trigger some change. Then I came across Bare Conductive paint. This seemed to fit the concept perfectly, I could use the paint to create a proximity sensor, then it would be this drawing itself that detects the presence of the viewer. Incidentally, the drawing is actually based on a diagram from an old RS Components catalogue.

I played around a little using the sensor to trigger some old PC fans from my e-waste collection and noticed something interesting - when the fan blades rotate they effectively become transparent. I decided to use this idea to create a 'reveal' within the piece. So I created a little secret scene behind the fan and emphasised the effect by having a few LEDs triggered at the same time as the fan.

The logistics of actually arranging everything were a bit awkward. Probably because I kept all my components on breadboards - I guess I need to learn to solder next. I also had trouble getting enough sensitivity in my sensor to detect a viewer at a sufficient distance. My goal was that the reveal should be triggered without the user being immediately aware of how or why it happened.

For me, the process of making a piece like this is actually a type of drawing. I think of them as "object drawings". As I lay out the various elements I'm considering the relationships between line and form, colors and shadows or reflections. For me they also tend to acquire a kind of narrative quality, as the objects come to symbolise creatures or processes.

Although technically this is a pretty simple use of Arduino I've certainly leant a lot from all the planning and preparation involved. I'm now considering ways I can incorporate it into my forthcoming solo show this summer. I will be creating a low light installation in the ice wells underneath the London Canal Museum. I'll keep you posted on how I get on.

Find out more about my Art Projects at nyethompson.co.uk

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