Self-Portrait

A laptop is observing itself in the mirror with a webcam. It is “sat” on a chair in a white empty space, connected to a device (Arduino) for translating computer code into mechanical operation. Arduino feeds the code into two rotary engines, which are fixed to the upper left and right corners of an easel. A globular plastic rope is affixed to the engines’ bearings; ball by ball, it guides the movement of the drawing pen over the painting surface. Boštjan Čadež upgraded and customised the complex code for computer vision with which computer entities learn to detect physical space. The laptop draws its vision of itself and simultaneously calculates, adjusts and transmits its vision – but not in a linear fashion, say from left to right or from top to bottom – rather, it transpires point by point, in line with the momentary “decision” of the computer, or rather, in accordance with its calculations. During the exhibition, the laptop is going to produce one portrait, or croquis, per day. These portraits are going to be exhibited in the space and thus become a new (self-referential) element in the laptop’s field of vision.