Slot Machine (2010) - Jan Robert Leegte


slotmachine.jpg

It all started when, on a trip to Germany, I was resting at the hotel bar. My glare was fixed on a slot machine endlessly running its attract mode. Snapping out of the (meanwhile) mesmerised state I was in, I wondered if I could isolate this obscure animation as a work. Back home, I obtained a machine and stripped it of its information (the glass plates, the reels, stickers, sounds, etc). The work basically is a tribute to the unknown programmer. The obscure unknown artist responsible for all the animations, start up modes, test modes, etc. of all the electronic hard- and software out there in the world. It is a found footage work, footage hidden in the interface of an ordinary nameless gambling machine.