FOUR ON THE FLOOR | SIX IN THE AIR is a human- operated, tech-supported crochet machine directed by the birds of Kingsbridge.

Operating hours for the machine are 10am—4pm, Saturday 29 July. The machine output is then archived as an exhibition running 3 August to 2 September.

The live work on 29 July is divided into 6 episodes, each lasting 45 minutes. In each episode a birder is stationed in a different location in the town and dials in a live report on the movement of the birds around them. Here in the gallery the artist decodes this commentary into a series of instructions and stitches for crochet.
This unfolding pattern is then fashioned with hooks and yarn by a team of crocheters working with the artist in real-time.

As well as finding form in different coloured wools and knotted textures, the moves and stitches from each birding location are archived onto a large blackboard at the back of the gallery.
 

Together the birders, crocheters and the artist form their own fragile working machine. Human operated and supported by technology, the machine is primarily avian, controlled and directed by birds. Its pace, shape and particular rhythm are in service to the will and evolving patterns of water, woodland and garden birds moving around the town.

As an artwork the machine is uncomfortably live. It is open to the unknown, moving forward without knowing what is coming next. It tolerates misdirection and the curious slippages of translation as information passes through its various chambers and moving parts. It is as interested in the processes of making as what is made,
leaving visible the machinations and turning cogs of its construction to locate its own particular language.

FOUR ON THE FLOOR | SIX IN THE AIR is also a portrait of the town that hosts it, with members of the local community adopting roles that support its production. The traces of its human protagonists as well as their avian counterparts can be found in its workings and final expression.

After the performance, Buckeridge will create a film from the live broadcast footage. This will form part of the ongoing exhibition alongside the artefacts and traces of the performance: the crochet and the coded instructions on the chalkboard.