I Wish I’d Been Born A Balloon, 2020
HD video with sound
9 min 45 sec
Bob Bicknell-Knight’s video work, I Wish I’d Been Born a Balloon (2020), centres on the life of a nano drone, a tiny unmanned aerial vehicle that is primarily used in military operations. Throughout the video, the device reflects on its own existence and laments its primary purpose, wishing to be played with rather than deployed in combat zones, and speaks about the history of drones in relation to various wars. The work utilises footage captured from within the world of the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V, widely renowned as one of the most accurate digital simulations of the physical world.
The work physically resides on a 3D printed USB drive resembling a zeppelin.
I Wish I’d Been Born A Balloon has been included in the following exhibitions:
– Ars Electronica Animation Festival. At the Ars Electronica Centre, Linz, AT, 7th September 2025.
– Pink Cloud, curated by Georgia Țidorescu. At Arad Art Museum, Arad, RO, 19th November – 19th December 2021.
– Algorithmic Bias, curated by Bob Bicknell-Knight. At [Senne], Brussels, BE, 30th September – 10th October 2021.
– Open Call Screening Programme Round Two, selected by Elsa James, Renee Vaughan Sutherland and James Ravinet. At Big Screen Southend, Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, UK, 12th September 2021 – 9th January 2022.
– Proyector Festival. At White lab, Madrid, ES, 8th – 19th September 2021.
– Come Closer!, curated by Office Impart. Online at officeimpart.com, 28th October 2020.
The first edition of I Wish I’d Been Born A Balloon is part of a private collection in Belgium.
BOB BICKNELL-KNIGHT 