“On Losing Meaning” is a robot encased in CNC routed polyurethane foam and SLS 3D printed nylon housings, coated in graphite pigmented wax. As the abstract form spontaeously moves across the floor it randomly marks the wooden panels with pigment. For the artist, growing up in Saudi Arabia revolved around the rigid interpretation of text. He recounts ‘As a child, my imagination was everything, an escape, and a way to reshape the environment around me. By creating narratives and drawing characters, I could make the world as I wished to see it’. 

The Caliper team alongside Factum Arte assisted Muhannad Shono in the build and install of the robot. The piece is on display at Saudi Arabia’s first Art Biennale, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale that runs from December 10 2021 - March 7 2022. The work will develop over the course of the biennale, marking the surface as a result of a series of randomised programmed movements.

The work was carried out between Berlin by Benjamin Panreck who developed the robotics and the motorised element of the robot and Madrid by Factum Arte and Caliper who built the casing. The piece was installed at the Biennale by Caliper and Noah Feehan who also assisted in debugging on-site.

Team: Carlos Sanjuan, Quinner Baird, Noah Freehan, Benjamin Panreck
Photographs: On-site Team at Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale & Oak Taylor-Smith at Factum Arte