entheogen design

Reflect

2024

Reflect incorporates multiple materials and fabrication processes into a series of biomimetic forms, [series 1] are fit with mirrored acrylic panels, and [series 2] are fit with frosted green-tinted acrylic panels. Reflect is a combination of the projects emanate and interstice, leveraging the advanced printing speed and light-diffusing quality of thin-shelled 3D prints designed to minimize printing waste to >1% of the final weight of the finished artwork. the end-cap panels leverage the efficiency of laser-cutting and explore the variety of tints and surface finishes available in commercially available acrylic sheets.

the formwork is first generated parametrically using Rhino+Grasshopper using a 90-sided polyhedron, the joined truncated icosahedron, as its base shell, from which cell-face profiles are scaled, offset, and lofted. two unique cell forms comprise the joined truncated icosahedron, thirty ‘even’ (narrow) cells and sixty ‘odd’ (wide) cells. these two unique cell types are then baked, and this surface is offset into a solid shell. next, bolt connection details are hand-drafted into the walls of the form, so that the cells can be bolted together and so that acrylic panels can be bolted into the ends of each cell.

offset contours of the cell tops are exported as vector linework and sent to a universal systems laser cutter that is used to cut panels that slot into the end caps of each cell with small bolts that are 3/8" long, 4-40 thread size. 1/8” thick acrylic sheets are nested in Rhino to minimize waste, but given the subtractive nature of this stage of the fabrication process, about 15% of each sheet (by weight) is wasted as off-cuts. the finished cell forms are then meshed and sent to 3D printers, which work tirelessly to fabricate multiples that are identical within a .1mm tolerance, yet possess subtle variation due to minute differences within the material, mechanical joints of the printers, and fluctuations in environmental temperature and humidity during the printing - thus, every cell possesses slight deviation from the standard form, much as how small amounts of mutation occur in every iteration or generation of genetic evolution.

Reflect explores the biomimetic concept of emergence, where many simple cells accumulate into a complex whole that exceeds the sum of its parts. Jane Bennett, in Vibrant Matter, argues that all matter, not solely organic matter, is imbued with entelechy, or active, generative agency that trends towards complex self-organization. synthesis, as entheogen, manifests and expresses this generative agency self-evident in fully synthetic materials and fabrication processes, serving as a science fiction of form in offering plural possible future applications in art, industrial design, and architecture.

Reflect was an important milestone in prototyping for the Emergence public sculpture. It can be configured with reflective mirrored end-caps or frosted end-caps that emanate light from the center of the sculpture. Reflect is currently installed at Miller off Main Galleries in Blacksburg, VA.