Hybridization Machine
Artist
Saya Woolfalk
(American (b. Japan), b. 1979)
CultureAmerican
Date2013
MediumMannequin, fabric, steel sculpture, video monitors, and video
Dimensions80 × 46 1/2 × 15 3/4 in. (203.2 × 118.1 × 40 cm)
Other (Height without floating skull): 69 in. (175.3 cm)
Other (Height without floating skull): 69 in. (175.3 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by Meredith and Brother Rutter and Joseph T. Waldo
Object number2015.1
Not on view
DescriptionThe Hybridization Machine is one of three components of the ChimaTEK installation. The Hybridization Machine incorporates a highly decorated skull, placed above the metal armature displaying a mannequin, whose torso is replaced by a video monitor. The torso monitor illustrates hand-drawn colorful images “mixing” the plant and post-human. The headset on the mannequin is wrapped with aluminum foil and has a sculptural textile made of lighter and darker blue phalanges around the ear. Adjacent to the head is another video monitor that shows the administrator/mixologist at work. The mannequin is dressed in a white unitard and an embellished leg-dressing.Metal fabricated by Jay Roth. Musical score by DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, videography by Rachel Lears, acting by Duhirwe Rushemeza, animation by Nicholas Tuinstra, editing by Tyler Henry, and consulting by Ron Eglash.
Label TextSaya Woolfalk American, b. Japan 1979 Hybridization Machine, 2013 Mixed media Museum purchase with funds provided by Meredith and Brother Rutter and Joseph T. Waldo 2015.1 ProvenancePurchased from the artist via Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York, NY, by Chrysler Museum of Art, March 2015.Exhibition History"The Shadows Took Shape," Studio Museum, Harlem, NY, November 14, 2013 - March 9, 2014. "In the Box: Saya Woolfalk: ChimaTEK Life Products," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, November 20, 2014 - May 31, 2015.
Bruce Davidson