Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms
| dc.contributor.advisor | Siopis, Penny | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Josephy, Svea | |
| dc.contributor.author | Wrench, Melissa | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-12-23T10:56:08Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-12-23T10:56:08Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2025-12-23T10:51:52Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | My MFA project involves collecting, deconstructing and reimagining obsolete media machines to blur the lines between functional objects and visual spectacles. Tinkering techniques are employed as an art method to reanimate discarded electronics. Discarded electronic components are salvaged and repurposed, ultimately resulting in hybridised machines. The production evokes Mary Shelley's gothic novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818). The research draws on cautionary tales of mechanisation and interpretations of monsters as cultural disruptors; thus the project positions rearticulated obsolete machines as agents of resistance against systemised obsolescence. Their disruption conjures spectres, bringing forth unresolved histories. In addition, the artistic production resolves to validate Do-It-Yourself (DIY), hardware hacking and circuit bending techniques as speculative knowledge production. The findings manifest in a sculptural installation comprising altered telephones and fragmented furniture in a domestic space that has been made to seem strange. The installation questions the interplay between humans and machines, offering an interpretation of the cultural significance of technologies which endure despite their obsolescence. | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Wrench, M. (2025). <i>Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Michaelis School of Fine Art. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42484 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Wrench, Melissa. <i>"Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Michaelis School of Fine Art, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42484 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Wrench, M. 2025. Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Michaelis School of Fine Art. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42484 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Wrench, Melissa AB - My MFA project involves collecting, deconstructing and reimagining obsolete media machines to blur the lines between functional objects and visual spectacles. Tinkering techniques are employed as an art method to reanimate discarded electronics. Discarded electronic components are salvaged and repurposed, ultimately resulting in hybridised machines. The production evokes Mary Shelley's gothic novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818). The research draws on cautionary tales of mechanisation and interpretations of monsters as cultural disruptors; thus the project positions rearticulated obsolete machines as agents of resistance against systemised obsolescence. Their disruption conjures spectres, bringing forth unresolved histories. In addition, the artistic production resolves to validate Do-It-Yourself (DIY), hardware hacking and circuit bending techniques as speculative knowledge production. The findings manifest in a sculptural installation comprising altered telephones and fragmented furniture in a domestic space that has been made to seem strange. The installation questions the interplay between humans and machines, offering an interpretation of the cultural significance of technologies which endure despite their obsolescence. DA - 2025 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - obsolete media machines LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2025 T1 - Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms TI - Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42484 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42484 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Wrench M. Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Michaelis School of Fine Art, 2025 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42484 | en_ZA |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.language.rfc3066 | eng | |
| dc.publisher.department | Michaelis School of Fine Art | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Humanities | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Cape Town | |
| dc.subject | obsolete media machines | |
| dc.title | Dead ringers recalling obsolete machines in living rooms | |
| dc.type | Thesis / Dissertation | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Masters | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | MFA |