The piece comprises of a strip of metal upon which is spelt out, in magnetic lettering, the phrase 'keep out of reach of children', positioned so as to be just within the reach of the average ten year old (child), being 180cm, based on a height of 138cm.*
The magnetic letters are not permanently affixed in any manner: it is within the ability of anyone to rearrange the text, providing that they are at least the height of the average ten year old. Ten being the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales, it is assumed that from this age upwards, the individual takes responsibility as to whether they interact/interfere with the artwork: if the text is then rearranged, such individuals therefore assume the responsibility of destroying the meaning of the work for any subsequent viewer.
The work implies the arbitrariness of such distinctions as "the average ten year old"- it should be obvious that a child of nine might be as tall as that of ten, while, from calculating an average, some ten year olds will be below that. By implication, this situation finds a parallel in the setting of an age of criminal responsibility, which may not be universally applicable and appropriate.
It also comments on the engagement of the viewer to the object, where the only choice for interaction is such that any change in the text causes a loss of the meaning of the work: therefore the meaning itself resides in the object being in a state constantly accessible to change- while never doing so.
*British Longitudinal Survey, 1996
©copyright 2005 Nicholas Middleton