The Party Popper Machine by Martin Smith

The Party Popper Machine by Martin Smith (Laikingland Co-founder) continues his theme of devices of celebration for Laikingland. In homage to the humble plastic party toy and to follow his interest in loud bangs, Smith has developed a nonsense machine that elaborately assists you in the firing of party poppers.

"I made the first Party Popper Machine as a wedding present for some close friends in 2006. This original version was made from unpainted copper, hand cranked and actually quite crude in appearence. I had always intended to revisit the idea and make a more sophisticated motorised version that included all the idiosyncratic movements and noises of the original."

This limited edition hand crafted piece touches many of Martin’s influences and interests:

“The human machine interface, people's perception and interpretation of space, systematic repetitive movement, precision, architecture, order, rules, form and function, craftsmanship, sequences, illusion, surfaces, obsolescence, space hardware, hinges, levers, cams, systems as concepts, reciprocating motion, undulating, rotating, control.

Manifesting as devices of varying scale.

More of his work can be seen on his own web pages, www.smithautomata.co.uk