Artefact done & all I can say is sorry. It's so bad it's funny. Posting it now to cheer you all up https://t.co/e2ptMtB3pq #mscedc

— Cathy Hills (@fleurhills) February 4, 2017

So minus points for execution, but in unjustifiable defence, there were some (jumbled) ideas behind this artefact, a quick Google of the words arte- and artifact resulting in …

Artifact: An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological or historical interest. Artefact: An artificial product or effect observed in a natural system, especially one introduced by the technology used in scientific investigation or by experimental error.

… with experimental error being the most applicable definition in my case.

It was a bit of an assemblage – the robot dressed in cyberpunk clothes was actually supposed to be painting (it’s a brush, not a gun), having learned how from a YouTube clip of a human teacher and a video of robotic arms painting cars. My gender-unspecific robot (call it Ex) has screwdrivers grafted to it’s arms to symbolise our entwined relationship with tools as opposed to an instrumentalist view of them. Ex was spray painted gold because I didn’t have silver, although I do have a glittery patio now, but Ex is supposed to be a robot, more like Gumdrop as it has endearing human qualities such as a love of dancing and self-improving hobbies. Ex is painting René Magritte’s La Condition Humaine which is about what constitutes reality and the representation of it (humans and their doppelgangers?) and about boundaries. And the creature was there because it resonates with my post on Companion Species and thoughts of robot animals used to further our understanding of wildlife as well as our very human drive to make money and to adore our pets.