Lanna Lang – Looking Outwards – 09

Jenny Sabin’s “PolyMorph” // 2013

As I was looking through previous Looking Outwards responses, I was very intrigued with Ilona’s post about Sabin’s work because, in my own scope of work, I am very interested in the interaction between the natural and the digital, and “PolyMorph” caught my eye as it perfectly sits in that spot. I totally agree with Ilona when she said that this project – although the structure mimics natural forms– it could not have been created without the use of technology, but it also could not have been created without the use of the human hands that cast, fire, and glaze the ceramic pieces joined with the robot arms in her lab studio that were used for 3D printing.

What I love about this project is how intricate it is: the structure is made up of 1400 pieces with 1300 different connection combinations and then built into a geometric structure that simulates geometry in nature. I personally love the intertwining of organic designs with technology and digital fabrication. Sabin uses her knowledge in architecture, design, biology, and mathematics to design material structures that are made of traditional art mediums as well as digital art mediums.