Couch Potato Remote (2015) –Steve Maher

Application for HOME at the Science Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin Ireland

Introduction Couch Potato Remote is an interactive art installation, physically comprising of a television remote

control device, powered using a simple low voltage potato battery circuit characteristic of the

popular educational science experiment1. The installation comprises of a relationship between the

sedentary lifestyle television/modern media promotes and the illusion of choice such technology

offers. Through these connections this work explores the cognitive dissonance created by freedom

of choice, versus the limitations and restrictions imposed by that very same untenable notion. Using

a large bag of potatoes and electronic paraphernalia, a low voltage/current battery circuit will be

connected to a TV remote control, all of which will be placed on top of a couch placed before a

television set. The TV remote will control a television connected to the terrestrial Irish television

networks; the audience will have the option to change the channels, volume level or on/off status of

the television. The artwork aims to communicate the latent power in even the humble inanimate

potato and to frame the complex relationship between potential for power and the illusion of power

both physical and metaphorical in the context of a familiar domestic scenario.

Context

The term “Couch Potato”2 is used to describe an individual leading a predominantly sedentary

lifestyle, immobile for most of the day carrying out activities such as sitting, watching television,

1 http://www.potato-recipe.com/pics/potato_clock.jpg

2 A term popularized in the 1970’s by satirist and underground cartoonist Robert Armstrong whose “couch

potato” comics feature sedentary characters. He also co-founded an organisation which created a satirical type

reading or using a computer. Key to this term is someone who rarely leaves the confines of the

home environment they have erected around themselves. Home as a concept is almost innate (even

travelling communities like circuses, gypsy caravans and the Bedouin carry the environment of home

with them as they go), human beings throughout time have manifested this heterotopia in many

different shapes and sizes but with a consistency of purposes, the notion of shelter and sometimes

territory tie us to our homes via the deepest parts of the reptilian like centre of our brains. Our

actions and behaviours regarding the notion of home occur almost unwittingly, integral to our very

thought processes even aiding in their development in our formative years. The home is a protective

environment we erect around ourselves but it is permeable to outside influences, this is no-where

more apparent than in the medium of television, in its short time on this planet it has seeped into

every environment and every compartmentalisation of society. The couch itself acts as the

receptacle for such input, from its humble origins in the 1680’s so called comfort revolution to the

modern room sized leather upholstered behemoths of the current age; the common couch has a

lengthy history in terms of design but short in terms of human existence. As our quality of life

improves, generation after generation, so too do the facets of how we live, indeed as couches

become more bedlike our critical receptiveness becomes more slothenly. If we don’t like the channel

we can simply change it, we can electively “like” political issues on social media rather than actively

participating in the democratic process. The idea is that we become vegetative, subdued in a coma

induced by the very media seen as a liberating force.

In early science education, young people are taught scientific thinking through relatable domestic

materials, the common potato is one of the world’s most consumed food items and is to say the

least historically and culturally significant in the context of Ireland. This simple tuber is extremely

versatile; this versatility is not the sole domain of the cook. The natural acids within the potato

when exposed to both the zinc contained in the coating of a galvanized steel nail and the raw

exposed copper of a piece thick copper wire have the potential to function as a very crude battery.

When placed in sequence this type of battery can power simple electrical circuits, for example a

solar cell calculator, a single LED bulb or a basic digital clock. When we see how such a basic

collection of materials have the potential for what are their usually assumed limitations it opens a

range associations about the possibilities within materials which are usually considered domestic.

Home itself as a concept is an arrangement of things which we surround ourselves with, down to the

molecule these things have limitless potential but on a cultural level their potential is confined.

Concept

The first remote controls of the 1950’s revolutionized the entire medium of television; previously

one was limited to a handful of channels, not just by what was broadcasted but also by the act of

interrupting ones comfort to actually make the selection, via getting up and changing the channel.

As the remote control removed the need for the active viewer it further promoted the passive one.

The home itself is an environment of enculturation, where all of the rules and culturally accepted

behaviours are learned safe from the actual consequences of social folly, but the environment is

permeable to outside influence, this occurs through the information brought into the house by its

occupants and streamed in through the various types of media consumed inside. In the scenario

of meditation which used watching television as a type of meditation with the tagline “turn on, tune in and veg out”.

presented within this installation, much like the Buddha Statuettes of Nam June Paik’s work, the

potatoes take the position as viewers contemplating themselves. As sort of a quasi-national symbol

the potato has a dual role, it represents one of the greatest tragedies of our history in the Irish

Potato Famine while paradoxically it remains a staple of Irish cuisine. Ireland and the potato go

hand in hand, in this work they are a stand-in for the Irish television viewers themselves. 3 While the

culture of television watching changes with a flood of new technologies making it more and more

redundant, its cultural impact on how visual media is consumed will be long lasting. While the

consumption of media offers more and more potential for choice the actual statistical choices

people make become more and more conservative4. Alongside the multitude of choices offered is

the ease at which we make those choices, media and knowledge moves faster and faster everyday

out pacing the rate at which we can receive bewildering our senses. But there is potential in

understanding this dynamic, the potential for power is in our very hands.

The potato battery is a hallmark of early science education; it can be used to show students the

potential for power in everyday household materials. While the potato plays an important role in

this experiment it merely acts as a salt bridge between the zinc and the copper, the potato itself is

only a medium for the current providing an electrolyte for the current to pass through. Recent

studies in Israel have suggested its use as an alternative source of energy with costs of production

equating to roughly one tenth of a d-cell battery, as one of the world’s most abundant food crops

they believe it could be a resource used in place of kerosene for lighting in the developing world. 5

However with the future of world food supplies being uncertain and with the potato only acting as a

medium between two other industrially produced materials, the reality of the humble potato

replacing traditional energy sources is, while interesting, very unlikely.

This work presents the gallery audience with a choice, an everyday act framed in the context of the

gallery and in the guise of interactivity, but the choices available are fairly one-sided, limited by what

is traditionally available in the home environment. The audience will be met with a familiar domestic

scenario, a television facing a generic couch; however atop of the couch will be a pile of potatoes

connected in series as an electrical circuit. This circuit will generate the power needed to operate a

remote control, but this power is merely latent until a member of the gallery audience interacts with

this device. This arrangement illustrates the potential for power in opposition to the cliché of “the

Couch Potato” and by framing it in this way potentially new realisations about our condition can

occur, even a sort of emancipation.

The project aims to address homes as sites of consumption (food, energy, water, information etc.) as stated

in the curatorial brief but also home as part of civilisation's alienation from nature, where the ideologies

influenced by the things which surround us separate us from our conscious connections to the universe as a

whole. Home is a false partition from nature, false because no matter how much we try we cannot separate it

from the outside whether this is a physical property of the materials we bring into our home or the media,

food and electricity we consume within. This partition is also part of our nature. Is it possible to transcend this

bind or are we forever constricted by it?

3 As an interesting side note and as you are reading this Channel 4 is commissioning a project called “Hungry” a

comedy series set against the backdrop of The Irish Potato Famine. 4http://www.whatiseconomics.org/what-is-economics/scarcity

5 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/a-potato-battery-can-light-up-a-room-for-over-a-month-

180948260/

Technical/installation requirements

As this work will use electricity (extremely low voltage, direct contact will cause no harm or shock)

every effort will be taken to ensure that no exposed or uninsulated wire will be present, this will

protect the wider public from any harm. All connections will additionally be securely fastened.

The couch, will be secured prior to installation from a second hand supplier or through an online

selling site like adverts.ie for very low cost or free if possible. The couch design and colours are

irrelevant for the most part but will be selected in order to contrast the potatoes when place upon

it.

Depending on the duration of the exhibit and level of interaction with the piece the potatoes will

have to be changed when the battery becomes flat. The copper and zinc galvanized nails may need

to be replaced also depending on the installations duration. The potatoes will not be edible after

they are used and must be disposed of properly.

The television can be of any type readily available, with installed access to saorview or

complemented with a saorview box. The gallery must of course have a TV licence. The TV can be

place on any elevated surface or plinth, a TV table is preferable as it references a more domestic

type environment.

Installation of work

1. TV and Couch will be place in arrangement that suits the curatorial team’s preference,

ideally with access of mains electricity for television set.

2. Once arranged potatoes will be placed in a pile.

3. Potatoes will be connected in the appropriate sequence with copper and zinc nails to create

a batter.

4. This battery will be adjusted to power a remote control by connecting in series to increase

voltage an in parallel to increase Milliamperage.

5. Potentially over a hundred potatoes may be required to generate enough voltage and

current to power the remote, this will need to be adjusted until the remote can be powered.

6. All open wiring will then be insulated

7. Over the course of the installation, materials may need to be replaced depending on the

speed of the batteries depletion.

Estimated Budget and materials

Item Details Cost

Couch €20(maximum)

Electrical paraphernalia Including replacement parts €40

Voltmeter €12

Potatoes 4-5 Bags 10 kg With some in reserve

€70(maximum)

Television table €10(maximum)

Television Supplied by gallery n/a

Universal TV remote Customized after purchas €10

Total €162

The following images are from a rendering for a potential layout of the proposed installation

Figure 1 Shot of Installation in space, TV of any type adjacent to a couch with a pile of potatoes forming a battery which powers the remote controlling the television

Figure 2 Potatoes will be connected in series, each potato will have a galvanized steel nail and copper nail embedded deep in the skin. Wires will then be connected in series making a rudimentary battery

Figure 3 the public will be encouraged to use the remote and all of its functions including volume and channel control, the on/off state of the television, menu control (etc). The television set will display the Freeview terrestrial television

networks of Ireland, Saorview.

Selection of previous works

Figure 4 Ghost Estate Model Village - (2014) at the 9th Edition of Welcome to the Neighbourhood, Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Askeaton, Co. Limerick, Ireland. Website link and drone footage can be found here

Figure 5 Knowledge (2013), Audio installation, conch shell playing punk song. Website link can be found here

Figure 6 Take One Down (2014) Collaborative relational project dealing with brewing and song with Finnish male voice choir Könsikkäät, Featured as part of Amorph 14 International Performance Festival , produced by MUU the Finnish

Artists Association, Helsinki, Finland. Website link can be found here.

Figure 7Sentences (2014) at the 9th Edition of Welcome to the Neighbourhood, Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Askeaton, Co. Limerick, Ireland. Website link can be found here.

Figure 8Meanwhile...Elsewhere (2014) at Felt and Fa(c)t, Ormston House Gallery, Limerick, Ireland.

Website link can be found here.

Figure 9 Poitín (2014) at the 9th Edition of Welcome to the Neighbourhood, Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Askeaton, Co. Limerick, Ireland. Link to website and video can be found here.

Artist Curriculum Vitae - Steve Maher

Teekkari village, OAS 1, Servin Maijan tie 1 A 5, Espoo, Finland

Mobile: +353879873145

Email:stevemaherart@gmail.com

Website:www.stevemaher.net

Personal Profile:

I am a multidisciplinary artist working predominantly in the fields of performance, socially engaged, sculptural and illustrative arts. I am from Limerick, Ireland but currently live in Helsinki, Finland. I maintain a Practice Between Both countries.

Education:

MA Social Practice and the Creative Environment, (1st

Class Honours) - Limerick School of Art and Design. 2011-2012

BA Honours Fine Art, Sculpture and Combined media (1st

Class Honours) - Limerick School of Art

and Design 2006-2010

Publications and media

- Explosiv - RTL (German National Television) featured video performance Egging my Parents House, Germany, November 2014

-Amorph 14 – Community? Handbook/catalog Produced by MUU, the Finnish Artist Association

- LandEscape Art Review – Dec, Magazine Interview, http://issuu.com/landescapeartpress

December 2013

- After the Future 2012- Eva International Biennial Catalogue, May 2013

- Paper Visual Art - Limerick 2012 - The Speculative Society, August 2012

-Particular Future Scenarios #1– The Speculative Society, September 2012

-Copy Left – Group Publication – March 2010

Curatorial Experience

-TomCat 2013, Co-curator alongside Anastasia Artemeva and Gimena Blanco

A series of street performance and site specific work set around two streets in Limerick.

formerly Cat-Dig Limerick a long running arts Festival, 31s t

of May to 2nd

of June 2013

Visit www.catdig.eu or www.tomcat.ie for more info.

-Extinct Like Us – Strand 1, Multiples exhibition, Ormston House September to Dec 2012

Residencies

-Raggle Taggle Consortium, Sarsfield Street, Limerick. June - July 2010

-Haihatus, Jousitie, 68-70, 19650 Joutsa, Finland. October-November 2013

Awards

- Kieran Meaghar Legacy Award – Limerick City of Culture 2014 - €10,000 award, Limerick, Ireland. August 2014.

Solo Exhibitions

-PLEB - Solo Show - Love and Money -Curated by Mark Maher, Hassan and Partners, Pursimiehenkatu, Helsinki - October 2014

-Modern Guilt – Solo Show- Curated by Alicia Lydon, in association with Galway Arts Center, Galway, November - December 2011

Joint Exhibitions

-Aabenraa Art Week – Biennial for International Contemporary Art , Aabenraa, Denmark and Flensburg Gemrany, August 2015

- Frozen Species – Alternative Public Art and Art Activist exhibition, Elaintarhanlahti Marina Hakaniemi, Helsinki, Finland, February 2015

- Explosiv - RTL (German National Television) featured video performance Egging my Parents House Germany, November 2014

-Amorph 14 - Performance Art Festival, MUU (the Finnish Artists Association), Helsinki, Finland, October 2014

-Head Out of Space, -ACAVA, Bermondsey. U.K. October, 2014

- Moonlight Cinema Club, The Grand Social, Dublin 1, Ireland. September 2014

- Head Out of Space, Windmill Gardens, Brixton, England, U.K. September 2014 - DLAF 14, Rathmines, Dublin 6, Ireland, September 2014

- Kitchen Space, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. September 2014

-Interpretations of the Devil's Bit Mountain – Launched by Alice Maher, Killea Art Center,Tipperary, Ireland, August 2014

-Welcome to the neighborhood, Askeaton Contemporary Arts curated by Michele Horigan, July 2014

Featured alongside Mike Cooter, Jorge Satore, Susan MacWilliam and Amanda Rice.

-White Cube – Experimental outdoor exhibition, Pori, Finland, May 2014

-Irish Art Does Not Exist, Station Independent Gallery, New York, U.S.A. April 2014

-40 shades of Green, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A, March 2014

-Haihatusken Kevätnäyttelyt 2014, Haihatus Gallery, Joutsa, Finland. February 2014

-Felt and Fa(c)t, Curated by Padraig Robinson, Ormston House, Limerick, January 2014

- What Has Been Shall Always Never Be Again, Curated by Dr Ian Alden Russel, Ormston House, Limerick, August September 2013

-BeSpectacleD at Belfast Photography festival 2013, Platform Arts, Belfast, May 2013

- Taking Place, presented by Occupy Space, Curated by Orlaith Tracey and Noel Collins, Faber studios, Henry Street, Limerick, 30

th March 2013.

-LIPS, Book Symposium, Ormston House, Limerick, February 2013

-We want You, Avenue Road Gallery, Portobello, Dublin, 15th

February 2013

-Masters Show - Social Practice and The Creative Environment, LSAD, Limerick September 2012

-Fresh Prints - 90's Nostalgia group show, Little Green Street Gallery Dublin, 12 May 2012

-Gracelands – Circling the Square – The Speculative Society - EVA International 2012 – Biennial of Visual Art, Curated Vari Claffey and Annie Fletcher, Limerick, May-August 2012

-In A State – Visual Artist Ireland – Get-Together, Limerick School of Art and Design, Limerick. March 2012.

-Cat Dig 2012 – Performance, Art and Culture Festival– Time Capsule Catherine Street, May 2012

-Open Drawing Awards 2012, Selected by Síobhain Peircey, Church Gallery Limerick School of Art and Design March 2012.

-Worlds END, Curated by Nora O Murchu and Anna Crudge, The Guest House, Cork. November 2011.

-Life With Edits - Art in the Making – The Joinery, Dublin. November 2011

-The Double Life of Catherine Street -The Spirit Store - Cat-Dig, May, 2011

-The Occupy Space art Auction – Occupy Space Thomas Street, December 2010

-The Black Mariah – Graduate Selection, Triskel Art Center, Cork, September 10th

-24th

, 2010

-Who Dares This Pair of Boots Displace, 126 Gallery, Queen Street, Galway.September 10th - October 2nd, 2010.

-Dirty Rat Bastards, The Raggle Taggle Consortium, Sarsfield Street, Limerick. 17th

-24th

July 2010

- Copy Left - The Make and Do Society - Performance and publication, Faber studios, Catherine Street, Limerick. 19

th May 2010 .

- Protest…..Something - Performance - The Spirit Store’s Cat DIG – As Part of EV+A 2010, Catherine Street, Limerick 7

th of May 2010 .

-Four Play - Sculpture exhibition, Faber Studios, Catherine Street, Limerick. 1st

-8th

of April 2010.

-Table of Contents – Workspace, the Foyer, LSAD, Limerick. February 2010.

-The Open Drawing Awards 2010, Selected and curated by Donald Teskey RHA, The Church Gallery, LSAD, Limerick. January 2010

http://www.lsaddrawingawards.ie

-The Grey Cabinet – Group show, Curated by Peter Morgan, The Church Gallery, LSAD, Church Gallery, limerick. January 2010. http://thegreycabinet.blogspot.com

-Multiples Cabinet- Monster Truck Gallery, Dublin, Group multiples sale, Limerick. November 2009- February 2010. http://monstertruck.ie/blog/?page_id=2448

-Creative Limerick: Connect to the Grid Limerick city council initiative, The Grey Cabinet group window exhibition featuring: Sarah Feehily & Beth Fox, Thomas Street, Limerick. Summer 2009.

-Vacant: 3rd

year Student Exhibition, Bedford Row, Limerick. Curated by Adeen Barry, April 2009.

-Nigel Rolfe Performance week Collaboration with Cathy Walsh (contemporary Dancer) organized by Patricia Moriarty, Arts Officer, University of Limerick, march 2009.

-A Picture of Dorian Grey: L.G.B.T. Exhibition, Sarsfield Street, Limerick. Curated by Breda Lynch, March 2009.

-Excursions: International Performance festival, Limerick City arts Council and Limerick City Gallery of Art, January 2009. http://gallery.limerick.ie/Exhibitions/ExhibitionsArchive/Title,10315,en.html

-Appropriation: Multimedia Exhibition, Curated by Peter Morgan, November 2009.

-Way Out: Group Exhibition, Little Catherine Street, Limerick. September 2008.