Hello, I am Rory Pilgrim and I am going to talk to you about my work ‘Sorting the ones from the noughts’, and the ‘Software Garden’ project.
This drawing, ‘Sorting the ones from the noughts’, is an image of my long-term collaborator Carol, with Pepper the care robot.
The work is 60 cm by 80 cm. It depicts an otherworldly landscape in soft pastel colours, made with pencil, crayon, gouache, nail polish and airbrush on paper.
On the far left, Carol R Kallend, a white woman with short grey hair and glasses, sits on a wooden stool wearing a pink sweater and long blue skirt. She faces a small white robot, Pepper, on her right. Letters on Pepper’s chest suggest the words “Equal Access”. They sit on a small grassy island. Behind them is a pale pink, wavy surface, like a sea.
Carol holds Pepper’s hand while a long net emerges from the robot’s chest, swirling across the landscape and cascading into the distance. The net has fine purple lines and is dotted with colourful orbs in red, purple and blue.
The orbs contain words relating to government and care.
I first met Carol while working on a project in Sheffield. I was looking for people with a passion for words who had been impacted by the radical movements of the 60s and 70s. One evening I met a group for LGBT people aged 50+ at a gay bar called ICONS. Carol was there, and a few days later I received a handwritten letter from her saying she wanted to be part of the project. It was the first of over ten years of correspondence and sharing between me and her.
I was inspired by her story. She said reading and writing had always been difficult for her, which I also shared, and I think we connected through our belief that words can be magical. I was fascinated by her passion for technology and science fiction. At the time she was experiencing changes to her access to care, and we spoke often about technology in relation to care.
I asked if she would like to embark on making a music video album reflecting on the future of care, technology and robotics. Carol wrote the poem ‘Software Garden’, which became the name of the project.
The music video album ‘Software Garden’ is on display near this work. If you would like to experience it, when facing Stop 10, turn to your left and make your way towards the room in front of you. You may be able to hear the music already.
Pepper, featured in this work and the music video, is a robot we worked with from Sheffield University, where researchers were exploring how it could be used in caring roles. In her poetry Carol had written about her desire for a robotic companion who could care for her at a time when human care is precarious.
You build a language together through voice recognition, establishing worlds where the robot and the person, in this case Carol, get to know one another.
In the drawing, Carol and Pepper hold a large net catching orbs. The orbs contain words, mostly related to governmental policies that harmed people with care needs and disabilities; others are more positive.
I hope my work creates a space of listening, emotional connection and understanding. I try to create moments where people can pause, feel how someone experiences the world, and notice how they and others feel.
‘Sorting the ones from the noughts’ engages with these ideas. The nets and orbs visualise care, access and responsibility: some contain harmful policies that have impacted disabled people, others represent support and interdependent care. Technology, like care, can bring both benefit and harm.
‘Software Garden’ follows the principle of a garden or permaculture, where different voices, people and entities contribute to growth and resilience. It values each individual, recognises injustices and creates connections for care to flourish.
Art is not a luxury; it is an essential life force. It can take us beyond and behind our words.
To reach Stop 11, follow the tactile line. After a few steps you will pass a Pepper robot on your right-hand side.
This is the end of Stop 10.