Fire
Mixed media sculpture, copper, lead, bronze, wood, electronics; 4' x 3' x 2'; the sculpture was derived from the medical use of intravenous. It examines the way in which an innocent fluid entering the body can have an explosive healing effect - tremendous potential energy residing in an innocent drip. A clear liquid (naptha) drips from the upper vast into a copper basin below. The drips fall approximately every thirty seconds. On the floor, a microprocessor is counting the drips. When certain digits align at random, the microprocessor opens an electrical circuit in the basin. The current causes the temperature in the basin to rise and the fluid to evaporate, until one drip falls and ignites with a pop. After this flash of fire, the temperature in the basin drops once again, and the drips simply fall and dissipate until the current again flows.
