ceramicdesign.org
Contemporary Ceramic Design by Peter Biddulph
biomimesis
digitalForms1
1 of 18
digitalForms2
2 of 18
go1
79
3 of 18
go1a
79
4 of 18
go1b
79
5 of 18
go2
69
6 of 18
go2a
69
7 of 18
go2b
69
8 of 18
go2c
69
9 of 18
go3Digital
65
10 of 18
go3
65
11 of 18
go3a
65
12 of 18
go4
85
13 of 18
go4a
85
14 of 18
go4b
85
15 of 18
go4c
85
16 of 18
go4d
85
17 of 18
go5Wireframe
59
18 of 18
Biomimesis: to mimic life; to imitate biological systems
Biomimetics: application of biological systems to engineering design
Biomimesis is an installation of slip cast porcelain sculptures created in 2009, which synthesises ancient and contemporary materials and processes.
It consists of 5 objects:
Generated Object 1 to Generated Object 5,
abbreviated to go1 - go5.
The source objects for this installation were created as digital forms using open source software
(Blender on a Linux platform), before being rendered as physical objects using rapid prototyping
technology. Casts taken from these generated objects were then used in a slip cast process to produce
the sculpture using liquid Southern Ice porcelain.
The pieces are hollow with walls 2-3mm thick, they are light yet have the strength and durability afforded by this fine porcelain.
They are fired to 1280℃ in oxidation, which vitrifies the porcelain imparting the translucency
and whiteness for which Southern Ice is renowned. The objects, which fit into the hand, have smooth polished surfaces,
the result of a hand-finishing process which leaves the surface pebble smooth with a slight sheen and very tactile.
I feel the beauty of Southern Ice porcelain does not require a glaze, but can be appreciated as a material in its own right.
Practitioners in a broad range of disciplines are turning to the natural world both for aesthetic inspiration and more effective
solutions for a wide range of design and engineering projects. Researchers have found
that the flipper of the humpback whale is a more efficient wing design than the current model used by the
aeronautics industry on airplanes. Engineers are working to apply the aerodynamic findings to future airplane
and automotive design. Similarly, engineers at Airbus have used the rough skin of the shark as inspiration in developing a
striated foil coating for aircraft, a design which has resulted in six percent less friction and improved fuel efficiency.
Such research and development coupled with the increasing sophistication of
CAD/CAM systems
has lead to the increasing use of novel materials, structures and processes in the world around us from the
microscopically small to architectural projects such as those of Zaha Hadid.
This project wishes to acknowledge such developments, which inform, inspire and provide the means for the construction of
this sculptural installation. The generated objects illustrated here present aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forms inspired by
lifeforms which have developed various means of locomotion to facilitate their navigation through air or water and their
engineered counterparts designed to achieve the same objectives. They appear to combine an industrial and an organic aesthetic.
The images entilted 'digitalForms' or 'wireframe' are computer screenshots of biomimesis in Blender, a 3D application.
The other images are photographs taken with a Nikon macro lens and an off-camera flash unit.
The flash is held a few centimetres away from the object and the light diffused through a sheet of paper. The objects
are reflected in a sheet of acetate.
