Ballerina Tryout

A dual wall sculpture, 'Ballerina Tryout,' showing a ballerina on the left and a shapeshifting cyborg on the right, mirroring her pose.
Conceptual sculpture by Mike Silverman depicting a ballerina and a cyborg, exploring transformation and shared consciousness.
Close-up of the ballerina figure's chest on the left of 'Ballerina Tryout,' showing an embedded outline of the cyborg.
Close-up of the cyborg figure's chest on the right of 'Ballerina Tryout,' showing an embedded image of the human dancer.
Close-up of the cyborg figure's head on the right side of the 'Ballerina Tryout' sculpture, made from upcycled e-waste.
An e-waste art piece, 'Ballerina Tryout,' featuring two figures in an identical dancer's pose, symbolizing replication and profound connection.
Artist Mike Silverman's dual figure sculpture 'Ballerina Tryout,' crafted from hard drive platters and motherboards, illustrating one being becoming another.
Artist Mike Silverman's 'Ballerina Tryout' sculpture, showing a human dancer side-by-side with a technologically advanced, replicating cyborg figure.
Close-up of the cyborg figure's head and chest on the right of 'Ballerina Tryout,' showing detail including musical bars in the figure's head.
Close-up of the ballerina figure's head and chest on the left of 'Ballerina Tryout,' showing reflections of other art in the room.

Ballerina Tryout, a depiction of transformation, has roots in both my Connection and Beyond Humanity series. It was born of a long curiosity I’ve had about what it would be like to experience the consciousness of another species.

The figure on the right is a shape-shifting cyborg that wants to understand what it feels like to be a dancer. With Beethoven’s Ode to Joy running through its head, it is in the process of becoming a perfect double of the ballerina. If you look carefully, you will see that each hard drive platter piece on the cyborg exactly replicates the corresponding piece on the ballerina, including the placement of the bolts. 

The relationship between the figures runs deeper than simple replication. An outline of the cyborg is on the dancer’s chest, and an image of the dancer appears on the cyborg’s chest. The work explores how a profound relationship experience changes both individuals involved, the knower and the known.

65”h x 59”w x 3”d: hard drive platter, motherboard, vinyl, nuts and bolts