Viewers may be mesmerized by the whirling propellers and twitching legs of Bjoern Schuelke’s interactive sculptures. But these robotic artworks come with a sinister surprise. Armed with tiny cameras, the sculptures stare back at the viewers, quietly recording the people around them.Schuelke’s sculptures feature motion sensors that allow the robots to identify and take aim at humans in the room, displaying their quarry on small built-in screens. Most of the pieces resemble malevolent next-generation CCTV cameras, but others, like the Tribble-ish “TV-Pirates” seem more curious than malicious:
People watching the scene while walking curiously around suddenly find themselves on the small peripheric TV-screens of the installation as if controlled by aliens. It‘s one of the TV-Pirates finally changing course steering towards other people standing opposite or next. Out of the blue, two pirates turn against each other, ready for a showdown.... but then, as if thinking twice, turn away looking for other targets.
[Bjoern Schuelke via Make]