“Creative activity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.” Arthur Koestler
Colin Harry’s career as a mechatronic designer, is rooted in his innate curiosity and fascination with the world around him. It is the continuation of his life-long passion for building, creating and discovery.
His desire to continually challenge himself both professionally and personally has allowed him to cultivate a diverse range of technical skills and expertise. He has worked in a variety of areas including rehabilitation research, biotech, aerospace, exhibition development, special effects prop fabrication for film and television, the visual arts and post secondary education.
Colin has integrated his interests in design, engineering and art, by developing a specialized professional practice where he works collaboratively with visual artists to design and fabricate interactive robotic and mechanical artwork.
He designed and built an autonomous interactive robot table for artist Max Dean. It was shown at the 2001 Venice Biennial and the National Gallery of Canada in 2002/2003. It is now part of the National Gallery of Canada’s permanent collection.
Colin has a long-standing collaborative partnership with artist Lois Andison, they most recently collaborated on a work entitled Second Life that was featured in her solo exhibition entitled Pieces of You are Pieces of Me, that showed at the Olga Corper Gallery in June / July 2024.
He collaborated with artist Shary Boyle on the mechanical execution of a work entitled White Elephant. The piece was part of Shary’s larger internationally touring exhibition entitled Outside the palace of Me. White elephant was acquired by the Art Gallery of Hamilton in 2024 and was showcased in Shary’s 2026 solo exhibition entitled How We Are
Currently, Colin works as an Associate Professor in the faculty of design at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU), teaching in the Industrial Design Program. He developed and teaches a mechatronics course, Creative Technologies INDS 3016, that is only one of a handful of such courses offered globally within a post secondary design program. The objective of the course is to use technology as a tool for creative exploration, giving students the foundational knowledge and technical confidence to begin integrating their learning into professional practice.
Prior to his tenure at OCADU, he was employed at the University of Toronto for seven years, first as an engineering technologist, in the Aerospace and Mechatronics Design Lab, then as a maker space supervisor at the Myhal Center’s, Light Fabrication and Rapid Prototyping facility.