Canadian design studio LuxMea has unveiled Plethora, a large-scale, 3D printed outdoor sculpture made in marine-grade stainless steel.
The complex sculpture speculates on the evolution of ornament with the advent of digital technologies. “The Age of Mass Customization evolves from the development of digital fabrication tools, which break the traditional barriers between design and manufacture,” write the designers. “Objects can be created with infiite details without added cost to manufacturing. The creation of Plethora is seeking the balance between parametric algorithm and synthetic forms of illustration.”
The skin of the sculpture is tessellated into over two thousand cells, each of which contains a unique three-dimensional icon. Rope-like members snake across the surface, forming the structural “bones” of the sculpture. The sculpture can be diassembled into three pieces, which pack into a single shipping container for travelling between exhibition venues. Assembly takes roughy one week.
The sculpture was shown in Shenzhen, China in the first half of 2018 and at the Shanghai Arts Centre later that year.
The studio is currently searching for a public venue to display the sculpture in Canada, possibly as the public art component of a new development.
Based in Toronto, LuxMea Studio is a collaborative of Steven Avis, a graduate of the Daniels School of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto, and Jean Yang, a graduate of the University of Toronto’s mathematics department. The multi-disciplinary studio’s work includes jewellery, product design, furniture, and architecture.
