‘underwater’ by david bowen: future primitives project rooms at interieur 2012 image © designboom

 

 

 

using a microsoft kinect device, american artist david bowen has collected real-time surface data from moving wave patterns of lake superior to articulate his latest interactive mechanical sculpture, ‘ underwater’. designed for the ‘future primitives’ series at INTERIEUR 2012, the large scale installation captures the complex and subtle movements of water surfaces through a simulation comprised of hundreds of servo-motors.

 

david bowen explains his underwater interactive mechanical sculpture to designboomvideo © designboom

 

 

 

by positioning the ‘kinect’ on the water surface to be viewed as a floating membrane, the recorded information is then translated into a grid of three-dimensional data points, which then correspond to each of the 486 motors. as the data responds to the dynamic patterns found in the recorded wire frame models, the exhibition mimics the gestures found in the ripples of the river.

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 2 horizontal view of the wireframe image © designboom

 

 

 

instead of having one guest of honour, the biennale INTERIEUR 2012 has invited 7 artists, designers and architects to createa project room. the installations are linked by the theme ‘future primitive’ and will offer different investigations of which essentialelements will play a role in our future living environment. the project rooms will be placed at piazzas that have been created atvarious locations within the kortrijk biennale.

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 3 detailed view of the ripple effect caused by each of the servo-motors image © designboom

 

 

 

‘my work is concerned with the aesthetics that result from reactive and generative processes as they relate to the intersections between natural and mechanical systems. the goal of future primitive within the underwater installation is to create a sophisticated system that provides an immersive mechanical perspective of a natural, dynamic and ageless phenomenon.’ – david bowen

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 4 mesh detail image © designboom

 

david bowen on his artistic practicevideo © designboom

 

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 5 electronic wiring image © designboom

 

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 6 modified kinect data collector  image © designboom

 

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 7 servo-motors (detail) image © designboom

 

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 8 number field from water data image © designboom

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 9 processing program image © designboom

 

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 10 hanging points per tile image © designboom

 

 

the biennale INTERIEUR 2012 has invited 7 artists, designers and architects to create a project room. curator lowie vermeersch explains the future primitives showcase which features nendo, makkink & bey, ross lovegrove, greg lynn, troika, david bowen and muller van severen.

 

 

david bowen: underwater interactive mechanical sculpture - 11

— INTERIEUR 2012 biennale in the city, city in the biennale 20 – 28 october kortrijk, belgium

 

the biennale INTERIEUR is now in its 23rd edition and is internationally recognized as an not-to-be-missed overview of trends, tastes and cultural movements. INTERIEUR 2012 will be bigger and better than ever with an extensive programme and an exciting mix of culture and commerce. it will bring a curated selection of 300 international design brands to 90.000 expected visitors over a period of nine days, additional exhibitions are scheduled to be shown in the city-centre, and pop-up bars plus a restaurant will be installed beyond the halls of the fairgrounds.