Neri Oxman series on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International 2017.
The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia has acquired Vespers, a series of data-driven 3D printed death masks designed by architect, designer and MIT professor, Neri Oxman, as part of the inaugural ‘NGV Triennial 2017’.
The NGV Triennial is a celebration of contemporary art and design practices, featuring the work of more than 100 artists and designers from 32 countries, including those embracing cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D printing to robotics.
Debuted at London’s Design Museum in November 2016, Vespers comprises 15 masks in three sub-series, portraying the past, present and future. Printed in collaboration with Stratasys, Vespers epitomises the theme of Stratasys’ The New Ancient Collection, which combines historical crafts with new technologies.
“For a Triennial that sets out to explore the interface between art, design, architecture, science, ecology and technology – Neri Oxman’s work could not be more fitting,” comments Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture at the National Gallery of Victoria. “These 15 complex and intriguing objects offer a compelling conversation about past, present and future, delving into our psychological and cultural relationship to death and adornment, while speculating on the capacity of additive manufacturing to create, at a cellular level, new materials, medicines, and technologies that draw from nature and in-depth design research. Neri’s collaboration with Stratasys has enabled objects of beauty and profound intelligence.”
Yoram Reshef Photography Studio Photo credit: Yoram Reshef
3D printed VESPERS, Mask 1, Series 1
One of the primary sub-series of the Vespers collection, entitled ‘Past’, utilises Stratasys’ J750 full-colour multi-material 3D printing to create five material combinations which emulate colours commonly found in cultural artefacts across regions and eras.
Oxman explains: “Vespers is the most sophisticated expression of our design approach so far, demonstrating that we can seamlessly vary the physical properties of materials in extremely high resolution that matches, and ultimately transcends, the scales of nature.”
Naomi Kaempfer, Creative Director of Art, Design and Fashion at Stratasys added: “We don’t often get the opportunity to contemplate the topic of life and death from within the discipline and perspective of industrial design. The New Ancient collection from Stratasys finds itself amid a technological era and consumeristic society, emerging from the competitive trenches of research and development moving towards the reigns of cutting-edge innovation. A subtle poetic and sustainable hunger has risen to slow us down for just a moment, to gaze deeply into the particles that compose the antique wisdom and emotion of our human heritage, enabling us to cherish and bridge this universal truth.”
The NGV Triennial exhibition in the NGV International building at The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, will run from now until 15th April 2018.
