Intersectionality
Madness Method (with David Greenfieldboyce)
Madness Method was 216 computer-controlled lanterns of varying heights that appeared chaotically arranged, flickering and changing in seemingly random patterns. As visitors explored the piece, patterns slowly become apparent in the placement and brightness of the lights. From a special, marked viewpoint, the lanterns snapped into alignment as a grid, acting as “pixels” in a larger display. The pixels showed a stream of simple images, animations, and text marquees that addressed themes of clarity, unification, human universality and connectedness. It was part of Georgetown GLOW 2021.
Year: 2021
Details: 18' wide, 15' deep, 12' high
One-to-Many
Time-based: Using 1,152 digits in “18:88” clock displays with 7,200 individual pixel elements, this artwork addresses themes of robotics, inevitability, and automation with imagery of fractal trees, geometric increases, countdowns, and scenes from the film Metropolis.
Medium: LED displays, custom display panels, aluminum extrusion, computer, custom circuit boards, PLA
Year: 2021
Details: 27x20.5x3in WxHxD
Chris Combs is an artist based in Washington, D.C and Mount Rainier, Maryland who creates provocative technology. His show Supercycle (IA&A at Hillyer, 2023) focused on cycles of hype, such as AI and cryptocurrencies. Industry Standards (McLean Project for the Arts, 2023) featured 18 works made from reclaimed and surplus industrial components, reflecting on disruptive technologies, surveillance, and environmental destruction. Outsized Effects (Gradient Projects, Thomas, WV, 2023) includes the room-sized Allegheny Data Company, examining data mining through the visual lens of coal mining.