"Reflections of Tomorrow" - participants
Phantomat
Venelin Shurelov
Phantomat - is coined from two words: Phantom and Automat. Phantom
derives from the greek word phantasma and it means a shadow of a being,
apparition, ilusion, a sole.
The idea about the phantomats was born in Skegness, UK where we
wittnessed how almost the whole community (from all ages children to
elderly) where possesed by the penny arcade culture. One person infront
of one machine, doing repetitive motions, in silence, not communicating
with other people. The machine reduces the subject to a machine. The
machine is always the winner, the reduced subject is always the looser
with no prospects of change. For us this was an extreme example of
alienation in an extreme comersialised public space. The absense of
public art and public spaces for relaxation and contemplation added to
this sensation. The only place in Skegness that offered an alternative
was the beach and the sea which were almost always empty.
The project consist of a series of humanoid looking machines
(Phantomats) that operate on the principle of the penny arcade machines.
The idea of the phantomat was born from the need to sabotage the
comercilised space by using its own rules of the game but offer
contemplation, reconnection with the city and with oneself.
co-producers: Intercult, Via Pontica Art Association