Sixteen Birds is the first multi-sculpture installation using Amorphic Robot Works' (ARW's) new Inflatable Bodies technology. The work consists of 16 large, white fabric shapes that recall the simplest line drawing of a bird, hanging limp and lifeless from the ceiling at eye level.

As viewers enter the room, the tapered, joined cone-shapes gradually inflate with air, lengthen and take form, eventually reaching out with a graceful wingspan, robust with life. The Birds then begin their stationary journey with a slow, elegant flapping motion, all 16 in a randomly generated sequence. The pneumatic mechanism that animates the work creates a constant, rhythmic breathing sound.

Moving through the installation allows you to find various compositions reminiscent of natural formations: compositions that change over the life cycle of the work. As in other natural organizations, however, the viewers' presence affects the work's life cycle, putting pressure on the system that may prematurely end the lives of the creatures on exhibition.

The exhibit gives responsibility to each person entering. As more humans enter the space, the Birds begin to accumulate air, filling their bodies as if human presence gives them life. The open, physically accessible nature of the installation gives the impression that visitors are free to roam within the Birds' space, but if the viewers encroach upon their space excessively, a death cycle is triggered. Once one Bird is infected, it begins to corrupt the others' behaviors, and soon all the Birds have prematurely ended their life cycles. If, however, the audience manages to respect the Birds' personal space, they will have an opportunity to witness the complete performance.

The shape of the installation as a whole can be varied in response to the venue, or the semantic or visual intent of the artist for a given show. The first installation of Sixteen Birds, for example, was patterned after the view of Adelaide, Australia from the air. The River Murray, renowned for its beautiful, curving shapes, is a river that is now dying because of the overdevelopment surrounding it. In the Adelaide installation, the robotic Birds are suspended from their control system in a contour that traced the shape drawn by the River Murray upon the earth, allowing the river to serve as metaphor for the foundation of the Birds' lives.

• narrative
• fabrication
• video
• credits