Automata Exhibition
Machinations is the only permanent exhibition of Contemporary Automata (mechanical moving models) open to the public in the UK.
Most of the exhibition is the collection of Pat Osborne and was on show originally in Liverpool. The collection features nine different contemporary artists/craftsmen.
Some are like moving cartoons, others superbly hand carved or beautifully engineered. The exhibition has an educational value for all ages as well as being great fun!
Here's info on some of the Artists who exhibit their work at Machinations:
PAUL SPOONER (Exhibit “Anubis”) 
Born in Preston, Lancashire in 1948, Paul had mechanical interests from an early age. In 1964 he completed a course at Lancaster College of Art where he made a clock and a steam engine from wood. At Cardiff from 1966 to 1969 he studied Art and Design, specialising in mechanical sculpture and in 1981 that he made his first edition featuring the Egyptian Jackal-headed God, Anubis.
For the next two years he made small machines usually sold in limited editions. Paul has also produced two card cutout books; Spooner’s Moving Animals and The Museum of the Mind, as well as the children’s book, Red Roger.
In 1989 he was one of the main artists involved in designing and building the Ride of Life. Since then he has a had number of commissions for larger work including exhibits for the Science Museum and a group of life-size animated figures for Louis Vuitton, the luggage maker (1995). His television programme, Mechanisms (part of the Machinations series), was broadcast by Channel 4 in 1995.
Paul Spooner’s work combines humour and an obsessive attention to detail with delightful and intriguing mechanisms.
KEITH NEWSTEAD (Exhibit ‘’A Brassy Mermaid”)
‘’After studying graphic design at Essex University I went to work in an art studio in Newcastle but left after only six weeks suffering from extreme boredom.
I travelled to Finland and took a job delivering newspapers but as the temperature was minus 20 degrees I decided to come back to the UK to find warmer employment.
I became a motorcycle dispatch rider (a little warmer). During this time I started to make and sell jewellery and later I saw a TV program about automata. I found the mixture of art, craft, graphics and movement very exciting and it wasn't long before I made my first piece.
I took it to a shop in London called 'Cabaret Mechanical Theatre', which specialised in modern automata. That was 20 years ago and my fascination with automata has never left me. I love to experiment with new styles and materials and to find new ways of creating movement. I never aim my work at a particular age group, and it makes me happy that both children and adults enjoy my work. I am always happy to accept new commissions both large and small.’’ Keith Newstead
Tony graduated from The London Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1951 as an Industrial Designer and after 25 years as a general consultant designer in London and Toronto, left practice to set up a new design degree programme in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
‘’Part of our concern was the development of rural industry, and 1974 I began making wooden toys as a way of coming to understand the design process as it applied to small-scale craft production.The Fairy Tale belongs to this early period when I was much influenced by folk toys and using bright colours and simple forms.I retired from teaching in 1978 and began working with recycled materials, old machine parts and printed ephemera and my style changed considerably. I now make unique pieces which mostly sell in art galleries. These are silly/serious pieces which play with the contrast of useless/useful, rational/irrational, with distressed finishes, generally in natural colours. But sometimes I make a short run of colourful toy-like pieces, just for the fun of it. Which is, after all, what it is really all about!’’ Tony Mann
KATE BRAKESPEARE ( Exhibit ‘’Killing Time”) 
Kate gained a degree in Sculpture from Norwich School of Artis before moving to Pembrokeshire in 1988. Here she joined 6 other sculptors to form the North Pembrokeshire Network of Sculptors.
‘’If I hadn’t been so shy I may never have set about teaching myself to make automatons. In them I found a theatre where I could indulge the repressed meglomaniac in me, with total control over the scripts, sets, costumes and actors in minutiae. I could voice my observations of lifes absurdities in as flamboyant a manner as I desired without ever having to step into the spotlight. I always start a piece with the figures and a clear image of what I want them to do…then conquering the challenges set by the mechanisms is part of the joy.’’ Kate Brakespeare
ANDY HAZELL ( Exhibit "The Cyclist")
Based in the Mid Wales market town of Knighton in Powys, Andy HazelL is a prolific and popular maker whose broad spectrum of work ranges from tin automata to large-scale public art. He is a recycler of objects on a gargantuan scale.
Working with recycled tin and sheet metal, he creates automata that are often inspired by the actions of daily living. He makes little tin figures that represent moments in time. As he folds, bends, beats and solders bits of tin, time passes. Tea is drunk and biscuits disappear until he has made a person with a life of their own. He imagines what magazines they will read and whether or not they have a dog. Dogs make him smile. They are always ready for a diversionary walk even if they don't realise how hard it is to make trousers out of tinplate
His work can be seen all over the world and a visit to his website www.andyhazell.co.uk will show you many of his works including film and theatre collaborations.
There is no entry charge for the exhibition but most of the Automata are operated by tokens that can be purchased for only 10p each from the cafe. A few are hand operated.
Whatever your age, whether it be 4 or 104, you will really enjoy the experience of looking around Machinations, it will be unlike anything you have ever seen before.
PETER MARKEY ( Exhibit" Cabaret")
© 2012 Machinations | Site made by Cyberium