Felix Kalmenson
Hot Air: Instant Nationalism
Interactive installation in storefront window at 85 Walton Street, Port Hope, Ontario: June/July, 2013.
Industrial hot air hand dryers, Canadian flag, metal pipes and fittings, motion detector.
Felix Kalmenson (b.1987: St. Petersburg, Russia) is an emerging artist who works in a variety of media, including installation, film, photography and collage. His work is informed by his interests in architecture, urban geography, politics and social engagement. Hot Air: Instant Nationalism is composed of two hot air hand dryers that are activated by motion sensors. As pedestrians pass the storefront and interact with the installation, the hand dryers turn on and wave the adjacent Canadian flag. The viewer is invited to consider the meaning of citizenship, participation and patriotism in the context of contemporary democracy.