Tree

3D Printed Nylon (SLS)
396 x 308 x 268mm
2010

This piece was created for an exhibition at Vitrine Gallery in London.

The form was generated randomly by a computer program. The program was run completely blind (with no visual feedback) and then the order was placed with a professional 3D printing company without having looked at the result. The finished piece was delivered directly to the gallery so that no person saw the object, or any pictorial representation of it until the unboxing of the actual physical object, with the possible exception of the production technicians at the 3D printing company. I did not personally see it until the opening night of the exhibition.

This “tree” was created algorithmically by randomly branching from the point of origin for an arbitrary number of iterations. The resulting form was then squashed in at one end in order to fit inside the maximum volume of the 3D printing machine. The software used was based on an early version of the BSTPG – adapted from the handle-making module.