screaMachine From Panoctagon to Festival Henge

Hammer Drop Slot Machine

MIT's ACT Gallery, May Day Collectiion, 2023

Hammer Drop Slot Machine is a device for performance where a micro-controller and app, control the suspension/drop of an actual hammer over the head of the performer who has a hard hat drawn on their shaved head. The performer presses a large button mounted on a stand in front of them which sets the animated slot machine in motion: each press triggers one run of the app and could result in the hammer being dropped, should the app land on "WIN - WIN - WIN"

The US economy and corporations' profits are directly related to cost cutting and minimum standards for worker safety, with immigrant workers substantially lower and undocumented immigrant workers, the lowest of all.

Hammer Drop Slot Machine app was designed in MAX and Arduino IDE. The hammer is held in place by a solenoid controlled by an Arduino which in turn is controlled by the MAX app. The "Win, Win, Win" result happens when the animations for the Stock Market is "Up", Worker Safety is "Down" and GDP is "Up". There is a 1 in 30 chance of hitting this combination, which triggers the solenoid to release the hammer.

There is a 1 in 100 chance of hitting "Hold, Hold, Hold" which indicates all three elements are steady, no change. In the performance, this is an early "out", the performer may leave unscathed without further pressing of the button.

On the inaugural run of the app. It delivered a hammer drop on the 15th press of the button.

On the second run, it dropped the hammer on the first press of the button!

The duration of the performance, how many times the performer takes the risk of pressing the button, is set at the start of the performance. In the real world, immigrant workers risk their lives and safety every time they go to work

Background: Gearóid Dolan worked in construction for many years after arriving in the US in 1987, like many other undocumented immigrants (dubbed "illegal aliens" by the legal system, so that still is the actual technical term). Never once did they or their coworkers get given safety equipment or training. They worked without insurance or workmans comp, mostly without any paperwork. When severely injured on the job directly due to the lack of safety equipment and the insistence of bosses on doing a dangerous task without them, all paperwork, including ambulance and hospital records vanished. Corporate offices of the employers claimed Dolan never worked for them and there was no record of an accident. 30 years later, Dolan still suffers pain and limited mobility from the chronic injury incurred.