Tivoli Machines
Tivoli Machines is a growing series of human-operated amusement machines. They have joysticks, buttons, lights and controls—but behind them, a human responds to the person using the machine.
What looks like a machine becomes an unpredictable encounter between two people.
The Claw
A joystick controls the hand of a performer inside the machine. Pressing a button rings a bell, signalling the hand to descend and choose a prize. The rewards might include a single potato chip, a little toothpaste or another wonderfully peculiar prize.
Living Jukebox
A musician improvises behind the machine while the audience controls the mood. Sliders marked happy, sad, rock and other emotions can be moved individually or combined, challenging the musician to follow increasingly impossible instructions.
Human Drawing Machine
Visitors write on a blackboard what they want the machine to draw. An artist sitting inside makes the drawing and passes it back. It was the simplest of the three machines—and still attracted a long queue.
The machines were first developed for a one-day presentation of the Inflatable Museum in Trondheim. The series can continue to grow through new machines created with different artists and performers.
Tivoli Machines was developed by JAM PUBLIC. The Claw was conceived by Thomas Askeland Svendsen and built by JAM PUBLIC. Thomas also performed inside the Living Jukebox for this presentation. The Human Drawing Machine was performed by Erlend Evensen.
