Be at the Moment

This is a project of a dynamic machine without intended usage. My goal is to make people focus at the moment when they are observing the motion.

In order to present every moment to the viewer clearly, I constructed a cubic support using thin metal rods, and other materials that have high transparency, including acrylic and fishing line.The transparency helps fading out the structure while viewer can focus on the ball's rotation as well as the interactions with the mirrors around the track.

I installed a magnet between every two mirrors and suspend them within the cube. The mirrors will sway in different directions when the magnetic ball passes through. The charm of force at a distance is that it is invisible but could certainly be felt. Similarly, while experiencing this work, participants cannot actually see the time, but truly feeling the flow of it.

The ball orbits and converges to the middle with varying pace. Meanwhile, the swaying mirrors reflect partials of the space where the viewer is currently at, they could be faces of other viewers or trees outside the window. When the ball finally comes to the bottom, the magnetic particles beneath it form magnetic field lines, visualizing the ending movement of the ball.