ALMOSTWALKING SCULPTURE
The installation
This art installation was inspired by the kinetic art of Theo Jansen. A Dutch physicist and artist, whose work has always fascinated me.
I loved the idea that through the help of evolutionary computation techniques, simple unanimated pieces of material can be put together in such extraordinary yet simple geometries that to some degree they are able to ‘take life’ and react to their environment.
The right chance to try my hand at this field came in September 2016 during the Schmiede – a 10 days media and art festival taking place every year in Hallein (Austria).
On this occasion, I decided to deepen my understanding of such an intricate mechanism. It ended up being more complicated than expected, but after several attempts, I could find the right geometry, start cutting the pieces, and finally assemble the sculpture.
The result of 10 days of hard work: a sculpture, which well, doesn’t really “walk”… But almost!
The Facts
- Dimensions: 135 x 115 x 90 cm
- Materials/techniques: laser cut 8mm MDF sheets, Ø8mm threaded bars + nuts.
- Realization: September 2016
- Event: Schmiede 2016, Hallein, Austria.
- Design and realization: Stefano Mori
- Special thanks: Bernhard Ebner, Susanna Vogel, Alex P. Kopciak, Ragnar Lodbrokski.
- Photo credits: Gabriele Krisch