Panel 2 (Semi automatic machine self-portraits: Trumpf Trumatic edition)

Location

Country: UK
City: England
Place: Manchester, DCMS Hub

This sculpture was made working closely with sheet steel manufacturers Ritherdon & Co Ltd based in Lancashire, where Manchester-based artist Nicola Ellis undertook a residency as an artist in placement. Working closely with experienced members of the Ritherdon team, Ellis has been observing, participating in, and at times, disrupting the ecosystem of the factory, relying on their knowledge and ability to operate machinery at the edge of its potential. 

The Trumpf punch machine is usually programmed with very simple geometric templates for steel enclosures (metal boxes) made in a sheet metal design software called RADAN. Some of these templates have holes or vents punched out of them but usually no more complex shapes that are necessary for Ritherdon products. The artist's work disrupts that usual process of designing a product and programming the machine with a line drawing of that design. The starting point is actually a photograph of the machine itself, which is in no way simple and geometric like the design of a product

This work is about the re-navigation of a standardised manufacturing process and therefore in the wider context of the factory, it is a disruption to the manufacturing processes. It is a testament to the artist's unique relationship with Ritherdon and a celebration of the machine operator's knowledge of the machinery's limitations and thresholds.

Places

Subjects

Materials & Techniques

Artist

Nicola Ellis (1987 - )

Title

Panel 2 (Semi automatic machine self-portraits: Trumpf Trumatic edition)

Edition

Number 2 in an edition 3

Date

2018

Medium

mild steel and powder coating

Dimensions

height: 200.0 cm; width: 112.0 cm; depth: 0.3 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Workplace, March 2022

Provenance

Workplace Gallery; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 31 March 2022

GAC number

19073