Observer

source: raumantaidemuseofi
Looking at Schülke’s works one can sense the illusion of encountering almost some kind of intellect lurking in mechanic and electronic devices. Warm-spirited irony flavours engineering joy in his high-tech constructions. There are also allusions to more sinister applications of technology in his insect-like surveillance machines such as”Observer #2″ resembling a science fiction image of an alien life form.
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source: schuelke
Bjoern Schuelke pursues a creative style that is equally influenced by modern abstraction and instruments of scientific measurement. The slow deliberate movements in his sculptures spatially consider mass and weight of form. Also influenced by the Dadaist tradition and Jean Tinguely, the theme of an absurd machine is key in Schuelke’s work. Playfully transforming live spatial energy into active responses, his objects experiment with solar panels, infrared surveillance, and propelled wind power. Many of his larger kinetic sculptures combine elements of surveillance technologies, robotics, interactive video and sound. Schuelke’s active sculptures question the way in which we interact with modern technology: on entering the installation site, the audience becomes part of the ‘system’ as the works (some freestanding, others suspended) monitor or react to the human element. (bitforms)
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source: artsy
Influenced by German sound artist Peter Vogel and Jean Tinguely’s kinetic sculptures, Björn Schülke creates complex viewer-activated machines that combine movement, surveillance, and sound. Equal parts art and science, Schülke’s works play on our relationship to technology, from the ominously-titled Drone #6 (2006), which appears to hover close to the ceiling and monitor movement below, to the playful oddity of Nervous (1999-2009), a wall-mounted, fluorescent orange ball of fur that shudders and emits robotic noises when approached.