Trapped in Orbit: Out of Body, Out of Mind

January 11, 2008 – March 1, 2008

Philadelphia artist and intrepid tinkerer, Charles Hobbs, elaborates on his longstanding interests in natural phenomena, weather, landscapes, and low-tech gadgetry with an installation of two, three and four dimensional new works.

One can image that Hobbs’ studio is filled with Tesla coils, Jacob’s ladders, perpetual motion machines and other fantastical (and maybe fictional) technologies. The artist’s practice- of invention, trial and error, organic construction- relates to the practice of bricoleur (or modern day hacker)-someone who engages existing materials in creative, resourceful ways. Playful and exploratory, Hobbs’ work is a fitting metaphor for the emergent trend that intersects art, science, and technology through the original use of materials and ubiquitous “do-it-yourself” ethos