robotic bird by korean artist duo erases its own footprints as social commentary

no bird robot installation follows cyclical structure

No Bird is an art installation by South Korean husband-and-wife artist duo UJOO+LIMHEEYOUNG. Based on a short story about flightless birds, the kinetic work is situated within a diorama-concept installation depicting sand terrain and consists of two mechanical devices that act in a cyclical structure.

A robotic bird leaves footprints over sand while another machine follows behind to erase the tracks with a toothbrush, along with a thin wire rake that smooths the sand. Finally, soft bristles flatten the surface to complete the tracks’ erasure.

the bird-like machine walks across the sand, leaving footprints | all images by UJOO+LIMHEEYOUNG

UJOO+LIMHEEYOUNG use kinetic installation as social commentary

When activated, the robotic bird operates for approximately 2 minutes. Its movement is triggered by a sensor detecting the viewer’s proximity, and continues as long as the viewer remains within the sensor’s range. Through the work’s structure, with the endless formation and erasing of tracks, the artists reference our human survival and its repeated patterns of remembering and forgetting, generating and extinguishing, destroying and restoring.

the bird-like machine pauses as it walks in order to maintain a set distance from the trace-erasing machine

the trace-erasing machine erases bird footprints left in the sand

the trace-erasing machine uses a toothbrush, rotating pins, and soft bristles

the bird-like machine was designed and built based on the walking mechanism of a bird

an artificial rose hangs from the bird-like walking machine

the trace-erasing machine takes inspiration from construction equipment

project info:

name: No Bird
artists: UJOO+LIMHEEYOUNG | @ujoolimheeyoung

esignboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: claire brodka | designboom