water art/water games
WORKS AND CONCEPTS FOR THE PUBLIC SPACE
THE GUARDIAN OF THE MOMENT
detailed description
A drop formed brass head is hanging by a chain which is guided around a turning wheel and is balanced by a counterweight on the other side of the chain. This counterweight is formed like a down pointing hand.
This whole system is configured in a way that only a small amount of water which runs down the chain, is necessary to set the head in motion. The plate head glides over a distance of 150cm and is accelerating downwards, which results in the up climb of the counterweight on the other side of the chain until it reaches the top dead center and strikes a bell or activates a switch which closes the relay circuit of the projector.
This relay is carefully devised of brass and custom build. It is situated inside a bell jar on top of the projector casing. During every switching operation a lamp is lighting up.
An electromagnet is drawing a compensator downwards, and therefore closes a contact alternately, whereby the projector is switching to the next picture.
At that time the head is at the lower dead center. There, the “mouth” is opening itself and spitting water into a cup. This facilitation results into an overbalance of the counterweight on the other side, which is drawing the head up again, to its starting point.
The Kinetic energy is remarkable, in a way that only a slight intervention in the upward motion of the head or the counterweight would be necessary to seriously damage the whole construct.
Therefore the returning counterweight is caught by a suspended dipper. Thus alone the kinetic energy is not yet completely extinguished, but is only returned: After the counterweight hit the dipper, it is fading back and catapults the counterweight back up to an undecided middle point, with fatal consequences for the relay circuit of the projector.
Therefore a custom made “water break” was developed. At the undersurface of the suspended dipper a jar is mounted, with a rubber hatch bottom. Under this arrangement a glass container is situated. As the counterweight is driving downwards and hits the dipper, the dipper, on the one hand is moving downwards, on the other, the jar is
diving into the water, the rubber hatch is opening and letting the water flow in.
If the dipper wants to fade back, the hatch is closing and therefore inhibits the water of flowing out. So the spring has to additionally carry the water load, which is leaking slowly.