Stratagem

Josh Davy combines his love of robots and taste for world domination to create the most nerdiculous chess set ever!
Opening Night September 17th 6-10 pm.
September 17th- October 3rd 2021

The game of chess that we’re familiar with was developed in Southern Europe in the late 1400s, around the time of the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. Chess sets have been hand crafted for centuries, and have also been manufactured in the likenesses of countless popular characters. I’ve thought about making a robot chess set for years, but always dismissed the idea believing it would probably not be worth the time I’d have to invest. If I ever did try, I knew that I’d have to come up with something original in design and hopefully making observations about the game itself or the society that created it.

The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. I wanted her to seem almost magical, ethereal. Her head is rutilated quartz and she carries a staff with an orb to match.

I found it interesting that a religious figure was a battle character, so I tried to model my bishops after the Knights Templar from the Catholic Crusades. The shape of the sword alludes to the cross on the breastplate, suggesting the history of violence represented by the religious symbol.

The king is one of the weakest pieces on the board, and yet the most valuable. He can do little to assist in play, but the game is over when he’s lost. I gave my kings swords with the point down in acquiescence and flaccid penises. If I accomplish nothing else for originality, I guarantee you’ve never seen a robot chess set with kings who have flaccid robot penises.

I still don’t know if I made this for you, or if I made it for myself hoping other people would also be interested. Either way I hope you get a little bit it of the fun out of this that I got from making it.