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ALEKSANDRA DOMANOVIĆ‘s new works draw attention to one of the  earliest attempts to develop an artificial limb with the sense of touch – known as the ‘Belgrade Hand’. Invented by Rajko Tomoviπ at the end of the Second World War as a prosthetic device intended for soldiers who had lost their hands in the war, it was then further developed by scientists at MIT. The prosthetic later stared in Donald Cammell’s 1977 Hollywood movie Demon Seed where a scientist created ‘Proteus’ – an organic super computer with artificial intelligence who became obsessed with human beings. 

For this work, DOMANOVIĆ commissioned a fully rigged computer model of the ‘Belgrade Hand’, from which she has made five 3D printed sculptures in various gestures and symbols from diverse cultural traditions and historical timeframes – from an Indian symbol of immortality and love, to a closed fist, to one that resembles a Spanish reliquary from the 16th century. Made out of plastic, then filled with polyurethane and coated with brass, aluminum, and ‘soft-touch’ – a recently developed material used by car manufacturers to lend a feel of quality to interiors – these works, as well as a new ink-jet print by DOMANOVIĆ, can be seen as monuments to both technological innovation and the contribution women have made in this field

seen at Tanya Leighton Gallery (Berlin) during Liste,
on Wednesday, June 12, 2013
image © wfw

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ps.The Future Was at Her Fingertips, DOMANOVIĆ’ first solo show at Tanya Leighton, is currently on view till June 30, 2013

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