The Mechanical Turk

Details

GAVIN TURK (b. 1967)
The Mechanical Turk
HD film on DVD, and wooden box with inlay, 2008, a unique set, published by RS & A Ltd., London
Box: 500 x 330 x 330 mm.

Exhibited

32 Pieces: The Art of Chess, Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland (exh. cat.), 24 January - 13 April 2009 (p. 100-103, ill.).
The Art of Chess, Dox Centre of Contemporary Art, Prague (exh. cat.), 2010 (p. 31, ill.).

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Lot Essay

Gavin Turk questions what it means to be an agent of cultural change by recasting himself as a human simulacrum of such diverse figures as Che Guevara, Sid Vicious and Jean-Paul Marat. In the era of Deep Blue, the massive computer designed to play and beat world champion Gary Kasparov, the artist returns us to, coincidentally, his namesake: The Mechanical Turk. This 18th-century automaton was the first (pseudo) machine designed to successfully play chess. Dressing himself in the turban and traditional Turkish garb of the time, the artist impersonates the romantic-era robot and alludes to the fact that there may be a human element in this technological marvel. The film is approximately 14 minutes long and shows the artist executing the Knight’s Tour with one hand in a mechanical fashion. This complex move consists of moving the Knight across the board until it has landed on every square and returned to its starting point.

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the publisher.

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