Robots herald Chico's arrival

New-media artist Chico Macmurtrie signalled his appointment as a senior research fellow at Nottingham Trent University by previewing his latest creation - an installation called "The Ancestral Path through the Amorphic Landscape" - during his inaugural lecture.

Mr Macmurtrie is a creator and choreographer of robotic performances, and the lecture audience last week welcomed the coup for the university's performing arts digital research unit.

The lecture provided a prelude to the latest installation from Mr Macmurtrie's San Francisco-based company, Amorphic Robot Works, on display throughout the Now-Festiva, (October 25-28 at Unit 8 of the Robin Hood Industrial Estate, Nottingham).

Mr Macmurtrie joins performance artist Stelarc as a research scholar at the university. The appointments reflect the digital research unit's aim to nurture artists who use computer technology to explore new dimensions in the performing arts.

Mr Macmurtrie's contribution to the forthcoming festival includes the central performer, a radio-controlled "dog-monkey", travelling along a mountain ridge surrounded by humanoid forms.