ZEN GARDEN
2023 Alberta Street Gallery - Best In Show
2024 FAB24 ARTeFAB - Exhibited Work
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A ZEN GARDEN for the connected age. The ZEN GARDEN includes a wooden rake, sand and ishigumi -setting stones- etched into illuminated acrylic panes. Through anamorphic perspective, a message condenses from the cloud of points when viewed from the correct angle. "Update Required" critiques the intrusion of technology into every aspect of life and the commodification of mindfulness and when attention is our most precious resource.
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Crafted with digital and traditional fabrication techniques, the ZEN GARDEN with a sophisticated algorithm to achieve the the text reveal accounting for the refraction of light as it passes through the acrylic panes at an angle.
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TOOLS: Rhino+Grasshopper, Illustrator, Laser Cutter, Arduino, Soldering, Woodworking, Hot Glue
An ANAMORPHIC EFFECT is a visual distortion technique where an image or object looks unrecognizable when viewed from most angles but transforms into a coherent form when observed from a specific viewpoint.
To achieve this effect, the text was initially broken into discrete points behind the sculpture and projected through the panes to a single focal point using Grasshopper. Grasshopper is a computational design plugin for the CAD software Rhino allowing parametric design and algorithm based modeling.
After a first prototype failed to achieve the desired effect, I recognized that optical refraction was shifting the apparent location of the points and scrambling the text.
To account for the refraction, I added a ray tracing element to the algorithm and reversed the direction of projection to calculate each point's necessary starting position. The ray tracing technique determines the angle of incidence between the ray of light and the acrylic pane to calculate the degree of shift that will occur in all 3 dimensions. This uses Snell's Law and the refractive indices of acrylic and air. This calculation is repeated and summed for each pane the point passes through.
Adding significant complexity to the Grasshopper script.
And allowing alignment of the points to coalesce into a clear message.
With the core problem solved, I constructed the remainder of the sculpture. Using sumi-e ink, I hand painted the ishigumi stones then scanned them to be etched into acrylic with a laser cutter. An Arduino Playground powers the LED strips illuminating the panes and a hand crafted wood housing and rake bring a traditional touch to the dystopian piece.
