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Combining hacked robot kits, scavenged pieces of plastic, circuit boards and wiring, twin sisters Leesa and Nicole Abahuni fuse new technology in an attempt to fulfill the ancient maxim, "know thyself."
Mingling the spiritual with the spatial, merging natural cycles and modern circuits, the sisters, also known as the Turbo Twins, work together to create their mechanical counterparts -- a family of five robots that collaborate and create art with humans.
The Turbo Twins' robots have performed around the world. Their next appearance is slated for Aug. 14 at the HalfMachine art festival in Denmark where Linus, the twins' favorite robot, will work with humans on a graffiti project.
"Collaboration is at the root of our thinking and our work," said Leesa. "We believe that the active forging of tactile, aural and visual perception between humans and in collaboration with technology asks questions that can yield ways of better understanding, seeing and hearing natural order."
"As twins we are born collaborators," Nicole added. "One of us is right-handed and the other is left, so we even find ways to balance the programming and soldering processes we use to make the bots."
The 26-year-old twins graduated from New York's School of Visual Arts in 2000 with Bachelor in Fine Arts degrees, majors in computer arts and a new moniker.
"The technicians in the sculpture department called us the Turbo Twins because we were always in the studio running around with power drills and soldering irons experimenting and creating bizarre concoctions of electricity, plastic, metal and found objects," Leesa explained. "The name just stayed with us."
Foraging for Plexiglas, vinyl, metal, plastic tubing and other curious items that they can somehow amalgamate into their creations is still a constant pursuit. The twins also hack robotics kits in order to distort or enhance a prefab unit's appearance and capabilities.
"We think the serendipitous nature of the parts we scavenge and alter endows the robots with some degree of individuality," Nicole said.
Of all the robots, Linus seemingly pays the most attention to what's going on around him, navigating around art installations purposefully. He's made from scraps of Plexiglas cut from random objects and an ever-changing array of electronic components and sensors.
Minus is the most minimalist of the twins' robots and the most averse to following directions. She makes snorting sounds from her gears when moving and prefers to navigate in spirals.
Primavera is the wild child and seemingly enjoys bouncing off the walls. Ladybug recently broke her gears while attempting a tricky reverse, and now has convulsions that result in some interesting artistic output.
Victrola is the musician of the family, with an attached wireless microphone and a propensity to create industrial tunes from the sound of her gears mixed with sampled musical tracks.
Linus and Primavera's most recent appearance was at the ArtBots talent show in mid-July. The installation was part of a two-segment project intended to encourage communication between people.
The first part of the project took place in April at the International Arts Biennial of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, shortly after President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq.
At the Biennial, people drew or scribbled on the installation. Linus then scanned the work with his infrared sensors and created his own drawings based on the human art using his attached magic marker.
When Linus' sensors see only black, he moves in counterclockwise circles. If he sees only white, he moves in clockwise circles. When confronted with a mixture of black and white, Linus' power switches between the left and right wheels and he moves in fractured, wave-like, spirographic patterns.
The result is usually a large, graffiti-like swirling pattern developed from the combined input of all the human participants.
"In Sharjah, this installation allowed for a freedom of expression and protest to be exercised in a country where these things are not permitted by law," Nicole said. "We were running out of markers because everyone wanted a turn interacting with the robot and the other people."
The twins then reconstructed the installation at the ArtBots show in New York City. They hoped that New Yorkers would create their own robot-human graffiti in response to the writings from visitors to the Biennial.
Some participants said drawing with the robots initially was difficult but ultimately cathartic, or at least thought provoking.
"Since 9/11 happened it's been a daily struggle for me to not hate people in the Middle East," said Nancy Havel, an ArtBots visitor who lost a brother in the World Trade Center attacks. "I didn't want to draw with the robots, I was afraid of what my art would say about what I've been thinking. But the robot translated my confusion into spirals that reminded me things always change."
"Looking at the art created by people in the UAE and New York helped me remember that underneath it all we're all human beings and mostly decent," said Katherine O'Connell, who was in Tower 2 when the hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center. "How weird that it would take a silly little robot to remind me of something that big."
The Turbo Twins can be contacted at nicoleesa@lycos.com.
