Existing cultural and sociological research cites ‘play’ as a commonly used tactic for developing specific ‘practices’ (or behaviours) and knowledge, where it can then be offset by the more serious notion of ‘work’. Parodying the conceptual stringency of Modernism, both in approaches to painting and issues of authenticity in the age of mechanical (and digital) reproduction, the project took a collaborative methodology – working with abstract painter William Bradley.

Art production can become confined through building a rigid framework for engaging with ideas, a set 'art practice', but through re-engaging with playful activity (via the agency of non-human intervention i.e. a machine), can the artist experiment and explore the boundaries once again? The constructed machine operated ‘live’ throughout the exhibition, continually altering and changing works by Bradley.

• http://www.berlonigallery.com
• http://www.markselbyartist.com