Exhibition Opening: Analogue Drawing Machines

Jack Tait discusses his analogue drawing machines with Sean Clark, explaining how curiosity drives a practice of delegating visual decisions to mechanical systems. Early experiences in radar research, photography and harmonograph demonstrations lead him towards machines that combine repeatable structures with unpredictable variation. He describes sine-wave, drum, turntable and Cartesian mechanisms, showing how motor speeds, linkages, pen lifts and timing controls generate patterns. Small differences between components, mechanical play and motors’ changing behaviour introduce complexity without digital computation. A rotary programmer distributes timed impulses between movement axes and the pen, expanding the range of possible drawings. Tait explores how much randomness an image can accommodate before viewers cease to perceive coherence, emphasising the beholder’s contribution to meaning. His process moves from a vague intention through workshop experimentation, selection of drawings and, sometimes, digital colouring that amplifies their visual message. Light pens and long photographic exposures produce apparently dimensional forms without photographing external objects. Clark and Tait consider authorship when other artists operate the machines, comparing their relationship to instrument makers and performers. They value the mechanisms’ transparency, educational possibilities and capacity to give participants unique artworks, presenting continued use and shared exploration as essential parts of the machines’ creative life.

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