Versus

2016, Installation, exhibition

Versus
Friday, June 10, 2016, 11 am
Växjö Konsthall – Norra rummet

“Only one concept, from the binary opposition, is ready, in our mind, to be privileged and the other one is usually put aside as having the second priority.” – Nasser Maleki

Versus is a two part installation and the first part consists of two ping pong practicing robots that have been programmed to continuously shoot their balls towards each others ball storage, as a closed feedback loop, creating an ongoing circle in the air.

Halfway through the run of the exhibition, the second part will be installed that consists of 88,376 ping pong balls, half in red and the other half in blue, and two ping pong practicing robots. The balls divide the entire exhibition room into two sides, blue and red. Inside each sea of balls stands the robot in the middle, programmed to continuously shoot its balls towards the opposing side. Over time the opposition blurs as the balls change place with each other, creating a state of shifting views.

Continuously and endlessly confronted with the need to take positions, to test our morals and to evaluate our beliefs, do you think this is better than that, do you prefer night over day, do you want the chicken or the pasta, coffee or tea, water or wine, red or blue? The methods in which we decide for ourselves what we feel, believe and act are seemingly conscious, like a straight forward if else statement, if (I like/need/want/desire it)) {‘buy it’} else {‘ignore it’}, but more and more I’m starting to think that the processes that lead us to making a final decision are more or less beyond our control, before we even know it, our brains have decided for us, through the automated daemon processes that are continuously running in the background. Some call it intuition, I like to think of it as the default software, the applications that come “for free” when you install a new operating system, that if you do not intentionally uninstall them and remove their bias, will continuously influence how you use your tools.

There may be a third option in this binary division of decision making; ambiguity, or perhaps a belief in not believing. It exists as a thought, in a moment of uncertainty, before you realise that you know, because when you act, your final decision comes down to the one or the other. Will you act or will you be passive?