Ghost orchid in the machine

Source: The Verge

Description

[Image: Perfect Lovers II]
Photo: Nik Massey

Vacuum cleaners, personal massagers, electronic baby rockers, and walking pads: these are the second‑hand machines Rachel Youn sources to create kinetic sculptures. Made with artificial flowers, metal hardware, and used electronic components, each piece possesses a human‑like presence.

Slow Burn is constructed from an artificial orchid, a neck massager, bits of metal that clamp the orchid’s petals, and a monitor mount that attaches the entire apparatus to a gallery wall. A motor on the massager animates metal rods that force the orchid to open and close, producing a visual that feels caged in its sexuality—a flower forced to furl and unfurl infinitely.