St. Pete, FL

Lampscape Lab: Cabinet of Curiosities

Mixed media environment: found objects, lighting sculptures, interactive elements

The Cabinet of Curiosities is a reimagined version of Rae’s Lampscape Lab—a retro-futurist space within the Mermaid Star Motel narrative.

Robots by Mike Norton
Assemblage sculpture: salvaged materials, mechanical components
Mike Norton’s five new robot sculptures live within Rae’s growing collection of oddities.
Crafted from brass, scrap metal, and personality, these charming bots channel the humor and spirit of mid-century sci-fi. Whether chipper or combative, Norton’s creations add a dose of mechanical mischief to the ever-evolving world of FloridaRAMA.

Rotor, the Mechanical Mongrel
Robot J19

Bio—
Mike was born and raised in Bradenton, Florida and attended the University of Florida. He has always loved the idea of using machinery or other materials for purposes other than their intended use. Therefore, art made from found materials is something he always had a soft spot for. When building the robots, I basically approach it as someone would when they’re building something with Legos. There are finite materials, so let’s get it as close as I can to what I want it to look like. From there, I taught myself about machine tools, precision measuring, soldering, and as much as I needed to know about how to work with brass.

Specifically building robots is born out of the idea that I simply love to build things and I love robots - particularly those with over the top personalities. Science Fiction robots like “Johnny 5” from the movie Short Circuit, “Marvin“ from Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, or “Rosie“ from the Jetsons portray robots who are chipper, severely depressed, and even have combative personalities. I love the counterintuitive idea of designing a machine to perform a specific function, but also to have the capacity to be rude and sarcastic to the user. Just imagine if your toaster oven was a jerk!