Le nouveau OMIZA

In a gray, sterile environment, a woman is teaching the humanoid robot OMIZA to walk. The woman's encouraging smile brings to mind a mother watching her child taking its first steps. Divided into three clips, the video shows OMIZA walking at first with the assistance of the woman, then hesitantly moving away from her, and finally going around in circles by itself. The video material is found footage, underpinned by Eric Satie's piece Gymnopédie No. 1, which is interpreted by both a pianist and by software for composers, although at the end, only the electronically created notes are heard.

The model for OMIZA is ASIMO, a humanoid robot developed by Honda in 2000. It was intended as a service robot that was to be incorporated into human society. In a mood that is simultaneously warm and cool, OMIZA seems to be the mirror image of ASIMO. The video's theme is the continual technological progress being made by humans, which is presented in visual form, through the images, as well as in acoustic form, through the music. Whereas the artist visualize the communication and interaction between man and machine, there are even more ways for the recipient to interpret the work, such as the socially critical approach, which examines the issue of the replaceability of the human being. (Jessica Krämer)