Machini the Marvel Mechanical Prototype

  A contemporary automaton by Dug North

When I first conceived of this piece, I imagined it would work.

When I made a deal to build the piece, there was a moment of panic: what if it couldn't be done? I am fairly certain that this is a new technique using free objects.

That's where this mongrel came from. It is a mechanical proof-of-concept. Indeed, the piece did work. Much of the final mechanism was just a neater version of this one with the inclusion of a carved magician figure.

The unusual thing about this piece is that I actually have it in my possession because -- for now -- nobody has bought it. Everything else I have made now belongs to someone else.

Would I sell it? Yeah, I think so.