As I walk through the crowded streets of central London, I often do the typical Londoner thing of mumbling under my breath, sighing and tutting as I try and power walk my through the swarms of idling tourists. To be honest, I usually do this everyday during my lunch break. However, one of the perks of working in central London is that there is always some sort of commotion to entertain you.  This Thursday was no different…

Ever heard of “Long Distance Art”? Well, Austrian artist, Alex Kiessling  created 3 art works, in Vienna, London and Berlin simultaneously! How? Alex, located in Vienna, was aided by 2 industrial robots, one in Trafalgar Square, London, and the other in Berlin, both mirroring Alex’s actions in real time! I watched all 3 locations through live stream. 

Apparently, it took about 6 months of Alex training with the robots to enable them to mirror his movements. These robots, although they copied Alex’s movements, appeared to have their own style of drawing – the Berlin robot being more self assured with bold strokes, and the robot in London being the complete opposite – although, I’m not sure how much of this was due to programming!

The whole experience was actually really interesting. I even forgot that I was on my lunch break and completely submerged myself in the crowds that pass through Trafalgar Square on a daily basis. I watched as they each drew three heads on their canvases, which will be joined together and exhibited in Vienna (and possibly in London). For more information check out http://www.wien.info/en/special/longdistanceart