Slow machinery

During the past few years, I gradually experienced the mass production of senseless goods, products that use valuable resources like oil. This practice proved to be devastating to the environment and humans as a whole. Can we counter this acceleration by slowing down?

The oil infrastructure depends on expectations of exponential growth. Like many other industries, this is considered a core principle in capitalism. Exponential growth requires more resources than our planet currently is capable of producing. These increasing production speeds are what drives me to construct on the topic of slowness. This prototype explores a slow system within a controlled oil infrastructure.

The appearance of the installation references multiple heavy types of machinery and components found in the oil production chain. Powered by a 230v diesel generator, it follows people that walk past the machine. Upon registering movement the machine will start to rotate its wheels. Depending on the number of people present, the machine will increase speed or slow down.

The installation has a finite run-time and its lifespan is dependant on the speed of the audience. Slow down and give time, or accelerate and deplete?