THE CIRCLES IN WHICH IT MOVES | ANDREAS MARTI

Andreas Marti is a Swiss artist whose practice focuses on creating works that adapt to and inhabit the environments in which they are displayed, interacting with the exhibition space, and sometimes taking control of it. Marti harnesses the laws of physics to create objects and structures that can move autonomously.

The Circles in Which it Moves is a living artwork, left free to act in the surrounding environment. It consists of a cordless screwdriver, battery-powered so that it does not need to be attached to the electrical outlet, which would somehow limit it. At the end of the screwdriver, the artist has mounted a structure composed of thin metal rods. A single rod extends from the tip and then branches out into four shorter rods, which connect it to two additional bars, which in turn form a cross that serves as the diameter of a large circle. This structure vaguely resembles the shape of an umbrella.
The screwdriver is then activated and begins to rotate in circles; the artist has intentionally scattered colored pigments on the floor all around it so that eventually they become involved with the screwdriver in the act of performing its mechanical movement. This results in a series of colored circles forming around the object.

The peculiar characteristic of The Circles in Which it Moves lies in the reversal of roles: the task of drawing, of leaving a visible mark in the reality, is entrusted to the cordless screwdriver, while the artist remains still, observing it.

However, the freedom of the screwdriver is only apparent: the object is not actually able to move at its own will, but rather will always and only perform the movements designed for it by humans. Although not directly maneuvered, the screwdriver can do nothing but move within the prearranged circle, the perimeter marking the extent of the structure mounted on its tip.
It thus becomes intriguing to observe the actions of this object, which seems to have its own will only initially. Afterward, one cannot help but wonder about the role each of us plays, whether as the screwdriver or as the person who designed it.

Andreas Marti
The Circles in Which it Moves, 2016
Wire, pigments, cordless screwdriver
Installation view at Aargauer Kunsthaus, DIENSTGEBÄUDE Zurich, RC Contemporary Rotterdam
Photo by Andreas Marti, courtesy the artist

28/02/2024