Dance of the Little Dusters is a playful work that uses electronics to animate a group of dusters so they dance to the melody of Swan Lake. Their movements are controlled by a set of stepper motors. The same motors also produce the music for the dance, because their vibrations are programmed according to Tchaikovsky's score. The creation of the music is thus directly translated into choreography of the dusters to evoke a fantasy-like quality.

This project was inspired by the fact that manufacturers sometimes embed secret codes in the computer peripherals of various everyday devices, for instance printers and scanners. These secret codes can trigger ordinary objects to display surreal and uncanny behaviors. Rather than to scan whatever documents are placed on the glass plate, for instance, HP ScanJet devices will sing "Ode to Joy" if the correct combination of buttons is pressed while scanning. This surprising behavior of everyday objects foregrounds the black-box system of technologies. It also invites contemplation of the human-machine relationship. We are accompanied by technologies throughout our everyday lives without much or any knowledge of their internal workings.

Phoebe Hui
Phoebe Hui is interested in exploring new possibilities between sound, technology and language, and to transgress ordinary boundaries in multiple disciplines. Her latest inspirations have derived from electronics, computer science, literary theory and quantitative research methodology. She received her MFA at UCLA Design Media Art, MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and her BA in Creative Media from City University of Hong Kong. Over the years, she received a number of grants and awards, including the Hong Kong Art Development Council Young Artist Award (Media Art), Bloomberg Emerging Artist Award, Yale-China Art Fellowship, Asian Cultural Council Altius Fellowship and so on. She presented her research / projects locally and internationally, including Ars Electronica, ISEA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, MIT Media Lab, Hammer Museum, among others.

Date: 2.4 — 18.6.2021