Project Name: Space Forms – Luminous Mechasonics

Year: 2025

Media: 3D printed PLA

Press: n/a

Description:

Luminous Mechasonics explores the intersection of kinetic sculpture and experimental acoustics through a series of 3D-printed internal chambers. These “sculptural instruments” are inhabited by loose metal shot that cascades through computationally designed internal geometries as the forms undergo automated rotation. This movement generates a shifting, organic soundscape that evolves based on the speed and angle of the rotation, transforming the mechanical process of 3D printing into a resonant, percussive vessel. The work effectively bridges the tactile and the digital, turning rigid plastic structures into fluid sound-generators.

Conceptually, the pieces serve as a contemporary dialogue between the industrial noise theories of Luigi Russolo and the kinetic light principles of László Moholy-Nagy. By coalescing Russolo’s Intonarumori (noise-intoners) with the translucent, light-modulating aesthetics of Moholy-Nagy’s Light Prop for an Electric Stage, the installation creates a multisensory “machine-art” for the digital age. The backlit, cavernous forms do not merely sit in space; they activate it, using light to reveal the internal “ribs” of the print while the metal shot provides a continuous, grinding, and rhythmic counterpoint to the visual stillness of the gallery.

The installation invites a deep, phenomenological engagement, as viewers are drawn into the interplay of mechanical movement and illuminated sculptural voids. As the chambers rotate, the light creates a moiré-like flickering through the translucent 3D-printed layers, while the sound of the metal shot mimics the mechanical hum of our technological present. This immersive environment forces a reconsideration of the “machine”—moving it away from a tool of
mere production and toward a medium of poetic, sonic, sensory expression that explores the hidden resonance within digital fabrication.

Space Forms Emily Davis Gallery 2025