The setup is simple. Motors, wire, cardboard, cottonballs. Modest ingredients that produce an immersive environment of sound and motion. But it’s the simplicity of the arrangement and materials that give power to the piece. It’s not about the motor or the cardboard. It’s about the carefully defined space.

There’s a playfulness to the work. Obviously he’s toying with the notions of chaos versus control, artificial versus organic. I think the chains at 8:45 are a great example of this. One could push it as far as religion. Hasn’t God been likened to a watchmaker who winds up the clock and then lets it be? But I’m not going to push it that far.

What I enjoy most about the work is ambience, the playfulness and the craftsmanship that allows you to focus on the previous two.

—Kat Sampson

Note: Kat Sampson is a graphic designer, friend and colleague residing in Portland, Oregon. I’ve been thinking about opening things up to other perspectives for a while now, so when she sent the Zimoun video my way I asked her if she’d like to write something up. She agreed and the above is the first of hopefully many guest editorials—from Kat and others.

via: @katsamps / katsampson.com / zimon(ch)