Duck, Duck, Goose (2007)

A mating pair of feathered robots performs a nesting ritual. Spins powered by motor-driven feathery propellers are followed by glides wherein particular tail-flicks are executed at each cardinal direction. The flight feathers on the propellers are duck, the ones on the tail are duck, and the contour feathers housing the electronics are goose.

On Beyond Father Gander in a tree in a cow pasture. Robot Art by Ian Ingram.

The two robots are On Beyond Mother Goose and On Beyond Father Gander. While miles apart—one on a lake, the other in a pasture—they each can feel the Earth's magnetic pull and have synchronized clocks, allowing their ritual dance to occur in distant unison.

Thanks to: Katalin Hausel and James Melinat.

Made during a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.