Vaughan and Vincent Wozniak-O'Connor. 'Radiata Studies', installation view at Plimsoll Gallery, Tasmania. As part of 'Material Sound', curated by Caleb Kelly.
Field recording from Millionth Acre, Hampton State Forest
Practice-based research process:
3D models from terrain data (Rhino)
Above are work-in-progress Rhino screenshots, showing the 3D terrain from Millionth Acre, New South Wales, as translated onto panels for CNC routing. The geospatial data used in this artwork comes from the JAXA ALOS digital elevation map (DEM) dataset. In this dataset, high-resolution greyscale imagery is used to recreate 3D terrain data, wherein lower areas of landmass appear in darker shades. More information on the JAXA ALOS dataset can be found here
To create 3D models from this data, I used the 'Heightfield' command in Rhino, which is a common approach for recreating terrain for architectural site maps and models. From here, the Boolean intersect command was used to subtract the terrain topography from shapes which simulated the timber panels to be used in the artwork.
To create 3D models from this data, I used the 'Heightfield' command in Rhino, which is a common approach for recreating terrain for architectural site maps and models. From here, the Boolean intersect command was used to subtract the terrain topography from shapes which simulated the timber panels to be used in the artwork.
Tool paths for CNC routing
Above are work in progress screenshots showing the tool paths used to CNC route the plywood panels in 'Radiata Studies'. A combination of adaptive clearing and parallel tool paths were used to carve terrain data into the plywood panels. The distinctive surface of 'Radiata Studies' comes from the interplay between the layers of lamination of the plywood being exposed by the vertical tool movement of a 6mm ball-end upcut router bit.
Fabrication process: CNC machining (Multicam) and laser-cutting (KERN)
Above are work in progress images of the fabrication of 'Radiata Studies'. CNC routing of terrain data was done on a Multicam router at the Advanced Fabrication Lab at UNSW Sydney. Steel lasercutting was done on a KERN FC50 industrial lasercutter at James N. Kirby Makerspace at UNSW Sydney. The steel panel used in this artwork was taken from artwork 'Millionth Acre' (2015), which depicted the waveform of a field recording taken from Millionth Acre pine plantation in Central Western New South Wales. This work was originally commissioned as a reiteration of the collaborative artwork 'Millionth Acre'. The reuse of this panel serves as a material link to the original work, but is otherwise opaque to the viewer.
'Radiata Studies' CNC Machining on Multicam CNC
Documentation of CNC routing being done at the Advanced Manufacturing Lab, UNSW Sydney. Manual extraction/vaccuuming was required to produce this artwork, to avoid the collett /spindle colliding with the plywood stock. While digital fabrication is commonly understood as predetermined or automatic, such manual interventions are common by machine operators and are not always predicted in software simulations.