The very beginning

These two automata were my very first working examples. The very beginning, then... Quite simple in technique, an experiment. But it worked. What's more: they still work!

Later, I developed that idea of heads stacked on top of each other (in one of the two) into a larger automaton, where the different heads move relative to one another. That larger one now tours with my installation (including Automata Carrousel).

The one with the hands was truly the first experiment. The figure is based on an old landlord: Petrus. Actually, I wanted to create a theatrical narrative about an apartment building, with different human stories on every floor that were connected or not. My idea for the set was a scale model of that apartment building with a small, mechanical animation of the residents on each floor so that I could connect the different stories in that way. That is how I started experimenting with those mechanical transmissions, with woodcarving, and with the combination of the two. Here is the very first experiment. However, those experiments revealed that the sculptures could actually tell a lot in themselves, however minimally. Long story short: the theatrical narrative never materialized, but I have since remodeled my studio so that I can now make automata there daily...