Entropy is the property of things such that they inevitably seek a state of greater disorder. Witness the unstoppable progression towards untidiness, the smashed egg on the floor, the disordered jumble of cars once the traffic jam breaks up. An infinite entropy machine generates and investigates disorder in myriad possible ways. The crackle of static on your radio, and dance of pixels on your untuned television, are both the entropic echoes of long-dead initial states.
Armed with an array of scary tech equipment, old video players and clunky cameras, artists Mike Boulden and Dave Branton have created an Infinite Entropy Machine which responds to the sounds and movements created by gallery goers. The whole set up is tricky to explain but Boulden and Branton have created a system whereby images of people in the gallery are fed into a loop which films and re-films them continuously. This produces a complex web of data which is beamed onto HSP’s wall; gallery goers are caught in a sea of their own past outlines.
Without initial order however, entropy holds no mystery and no dialogue is possible. So the artists have also incorporated a system where they can capture the state of things at the boundaries, when something changes, a tipping point, to provide ordered input which is allowed to decay. Therefore, the Infinite Entropy Machine created by Boulden and Branton is sensitive to noise. Depending on the volume of the sounds, the image will revert to being reasonably clear and without the blurring of the repetitions.
An Infinite Entropy Machine is an intriguing, confusing and interactive video installation from two exciting artists. Be sure to visit HSP between the 27 October and 10 December to see entropic versions of yourself fade away into the darkness. HSP is open from 11 – 5 Weds, Thurs, Fri and 11 – 2 Sat.
