╳ As the result of a workshop conducted at the Architectural Association, School of Design in London, students in the Design Research Lab came up with the concept of Grompies, a plaster Gaudíesque structure with a corporeal quality. ╳ The architectural structure was generated by filling Lycra® with liquid plaster and then leaving it to set. Earlier stages involved translating a computer-generated pattern into stitched lines across fabric using a sewing machine and by hand. Patterns were generated through behavioural rule sets that played out with no finite time limits; and one of the ‘moments’ was observed in virtual space, and captured. The resulting pattern was translated by hand and sewing machine into a stitched pattern on Lycra® by printing and tracing its form. The textured fabric canvasses were then pulled taut and fixed to wooden frames before being filled with plaster.
╳ This kind of conceptual piece tells the story of how art and technology can co-exist without compromise, and whilst these two spheres might seem strange bedfellows, it is a conversation that is relevant and ongoing.
