3-D printer creates alternative spa experience

Image via Opposition Art

A 3-D printer in a spa? Not exactly. A spa would be the last place you’d expect to see a 3-D printer working to maximum capacity, but for artist Jonathan Schipper, this setting is ideal to coincide with his project.

Schipper used his illustrious imagination to create his latest tech project, Detritus . The endeavor is set in a reformed boiler room, where a room-sized custom-built 3-D printer spins a masterpiece before your eyes. The printer takes the form of a robot that is composed of an extruder mechanism that dangles from the 40-foot ceilings. The computer-controlled cables administer a saline paste onto the floor that is already laden in salt. The hot tub works as a great source of water for the project. All of these electrical components enable the device to act as a 3-D printer. The robotic 3D printer is programmed to build a bleak landscape, erect buildings, and create a ruined city, all adhering to the post-apocalyptic aesthetic that Schipper is going for.

Image via Opposition Art

From the comfort of the hot tub, guests are privy to the sandy scene that is unraveling before them. The robotic head swiftly constructs the city from sand, and when the display is over, the audience has to channel their inner Godzilla, destroying the scenery as they walk over it.

Schipper was inspired to commence this project after listening to a geology lecture where a theoretical film was shown about the world. In the clip, Schipper saw that the oceans and mountains would move, and for months at a time no humans would be present. The only sign that humans ever graced the Earth were the structures that they built and left to ruin. Schipper thinks that this project may be a porthole into the world of post-humanity that the future could hold, and what the world may look like without any life forms roaming around.

Image via Wired

In an interview, Schipper stated, “I have always had a fondness for post-apocalyptic ideas.” He asserts, “We spend so much time forcing the planet to confirm to our will that the idea that one day it could be free of your yoke is to me a very appealing one.”  He realized that this project was fully ascertainable and that “it’s human nature to want to be in control, but this piece [of machinery] will never be fully controllable.”

You can catch Detritus live at the Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, until November 24.

Story via Opposition Art, Wired