Survival Research Laboratory is on display for the first time at Marlborough Contermpary in the Art Center!
At the beginning of 2018, the Marlborough Center for Contemporary Art announced that they had invited Survival Research Laboratories to do a collaborative exhibition. This is not only Survival Research Laboratories first foray into the commercial gallery system, but also an opportunity for audiences to get a glimpse of the vibrant performance history of Survival Research Laboratory.
Founded in 1978 by Mark Pauline, Survival Research Laboratory was designed to redefine machinery and technology. As science and technology raced to become streamlined, faster, and more cost-effective, Pauline pushes his creations towards the essence of machinery, instead imagining how machines would develop if freed from their service to humanity, no longer slaves to commercial production or the arms race.
Machines designed by Survival Research Laboratories are usually constructed from crude steel. These structures are rarely capable of more math than their average audience member, designed to exhibit inefficiencies and errors that challenge the idea of the machine in modern society. Survival Research Lab has been a pioneer of the industrial performing arts. It could be considered one of the most dangerous shows in the world, as the performances often involve fire, robot fighting, and explosions. Pauline performed in these dangerous acts for many years. As a testament to his dedication to his craft, though he seriously fractured his right hand finger handling a rocket in 1982, his doctor transplanted his toe onto his right hand so that Pauline could continue to create.
Since 1979, Survival Research Laboratory has exhibited over 55 times in the US, Europe, and Asia. Each show features a unique set of robots and machinery, focusing on different social and political issues. These performances feature primarily the machines themselves, humans participate as merely spectators or operators. This show features all the intrigue and aesthetics of Survival Research Labority's creations, but none of the danger, visitors can be certain their experience will be safe.
Inconsiderate fantasies of negative acceleration characterized by sacrifices of a non-consensual nature
Date: January 6, 2018 - February 10, 2018
Venue: Marlborough Contemporary in New York
Figure 1: Split Head, 2017, steel, aluminum, polychrome, remote control, 29 x 25 x 24 in. Photo YIART
Left: Mr. Satan Head, 2007, nickel steel, stainless steel, ceramic wool and remote controller, 42 x 24 x 29 in. And Dule Mule, 2007, steel, aluminum, plastic, remote controller, 148 x 55 x 71 in. Photo YIART
Right: Rotary Jaws with Squirrel Eyes, 1987, steel, electronics, plexi-glass, squirrels, 80 x 41 x 40 in. Photo YIART
