A Space of Endless Potential
a-space-of-endless-potential.ca
A commission for the BMO Project Room, in collaboration with Gordon Hicks P.Eng.
On view until August 29, 2024
18'-1.75” L x 8'-11” W x 8'-11.5” H
motorized 3-axis gantry, controller, ball
Something was set in motion.
It should have slowed to a standstill long before now but it didn't, it is still going. Slowly. It appears not to have succumbed to the many forces that threaten to sap its energy, which is strange; in the universe we live in, energy is finite. Once expended, it leaves that thing that held it (a ball, a person, the universe itself) listless and static. Yet this little ball is still bouncing, almost like it exists in a universe outside of ours, untethered from its rules.
This installation, made in collaboration with engineer Gordon Hicks, conjures both a little orange ball that can bounce indefinitely and the charged room that allows it to do so. A place where objects are immune from the forces—of drag, air resistance, friction, kinetic energy loss—that normally bring bouncing balls to a standstill. A place where we can imagine our own energy to be similarly boundless.
The mechanics of the illusion are apparent from the outset: a motorized gantry, similar to the movable bed of a CNC machine or 3D printer, has been scaled to the size of the project room and suspended from the ceiling. It has been programmed to control the ball along three axes of movement following paths of travel that an actual thrown ball would take. The movements are unpredictable, generated in real time, and conceivably might never repeat throughout the exhibition. Incorporating a slow-motion version of real world physics the ball traces an ever unfolding and ultimately unpredictable path.
Ever present, the gantry is hard to ignore. It tells us how the trick is done, while the movements of the ball invite us to disregard those facts and be party to our own deception. To imagine an entity with boundless drive.
Slowed to a dreamy pace, the ball ricochets through the BMO project room, transforming it into a lunar, weightless space. Time slows as we contemplate a little spherical object that will never run out of steam, possessing the unflagging energy and dynamism that we might wish for ourselves.
Commissioned by Dr. Dawn Cain, Curator of BMO Financial Group's Corporate Art Collection 2002-2023
Created by Jon Sasaki in collaboration with Gordon Hicks P.Eng
Assisted by Marnie White and Brad Van Der Zanden
Installation Assistance by Dustin Baldwin
Exhibition Text by Jon Sasaki
Gallery text panel and lenticular card designed by Michelle Astrug and Jon Sasaki
Gallery Mount by Brian Gravestock
Website Design by Gordon Hicks and Jon Sasaki
Documentation courtesy of Brian R. Donnelly, Gordon Hicks
Gordon Hicks bio:
Gordon Hicks, based in Toronto, is an artist and engineer whose work blends science and technology to explore our world. Using electronics, sensors, and kinetics, he creates mixed-media installations that examine natural and technological systems. His work has been showcased at Nuit Blanche (Toronto), the Agnes Etherington Centre (Kingston), Surrey Art Gallery (Surrey, BC), and Blackwood Gallery (Mississauga). Hicks frequently collaborates with other artists, including for public art commissions such as “Errant Rain Cloud” (2019) in Richmond, BC, together with artist Germaine Koh. A graduate of Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Hicks also designs custom electronics and engineered systems in support of other artists’ projects.
Acknowledgments
Jon wishes to extend heartfelt thanks to Dawn Cain for getting the ball rolling, for her guidance, insight and steadfast support throughout.
Marnie White for her invaluable assistance far beyond the call of duty,
Brad Van Der Zanden for keeping the ball rolling,
Dustin Baldwin for his always-impeccable installation work,
Ruth Jones, Annie Koyama and Clint Roenisch for their encouragement and indispensable feedback
Amanda Stoughton and the 68th floor team,
Geoffrey Walling at RAB lighting, Lumicrest LED Lighting for lending their skills,
Gordon Hicks for his dedication to a staggeringly-difficult challenge,
all the previous Project Room artists for their inspiring work,
and BMO Financial Group for their trust in this project, and more broadly, their incredible contributions to the arts in Canada over the years.
Commissioned by BMO Financial Group
