Tideswing

steel, aluminum, stepper motor, Arduino, rubber swing, lead shot

2019

Tideswing dreams of subjecting the self to a shift in scale and time by drawing out the oscillating motion of a swing to match the barely perceptible rhythm of the tides. It posits synchronization as a method of harmonization between one body and a massive natural phenomenon. But the artificial approximation embeds futility in the gesture. The simple equations, motors, and inflexible materials are incapable of rendering the fluid cycle created by the gravitational attraction of two planetary bodies. The gesture is a romantic reach destined to fall short. The swing is empty.