VOLTA: Artist Project 1 - Michael Salter

Michael Salter is fascinated, disgusted and hypnotized by the influx of images produced and forced upon us by current consumer society and he attempts to put some order to this visual pollution in his work. The exploration of consumerism and its consequent litter - combined with a fascination for character design, the transformation of found objects and science fiction - has also led Salter to create his Styrobots. These sculptures are made of protective polystyrene packing elements, commonly found in computer, toys or electrical appliances boxes, objects that are instantly useless once the box is opened. These are puzzled together - with no alterations nor cuttings - resulting in huge installations or miniature sculptures, requiring the extremes of either considerable distance from the viewer or minute observation.

Salter aims to create a playful yet unsettling experience with his Styrobots; the object itself is intriguing and beautiful and appears at first to be a friendly machine. After close inspection, however, a very alarming reality is addressed: the waste of discarded material and the failure of technology to address this issue. The polystyrene robot becomes a fearsome symbol of human consuming folly that is set to destroy mankind.

Michael Salter, Robotbox, Mixed Media, 2008