tomàs saraceno: on space time foam from designboom on Vimeo.
At first glance, this interactive sculpture by Argentinian artist Tomàs Saraceno, on display in Milan, resembles a giant, layered waterbed. In reality, it's more like an air mattress, although a highly sophisticated one, whose design and construction is based on years of engineering and physics research.
Titled On Space Time Foam, the aerial artwork uses anchored PVC sheets suspended at various heights and angles so that every bit of human contact disrupts and alters the sculpture's shape and a region's volume by pressing the membranes closer to one another.
This translucent playground is based on the principles of String Theory, and is bolstered by the differing air pressure points throughout the bubble. Your footprint closer to the bottom of the work (which is suspended in a gallery/airplane hanger, 78 feet above a cement floor) will react differently then if pressed onto another sphere. And the contributions of other adventurers occupying the spaces -- both immediate and distant -- also play a role in your feelings of safety and ability to maneuver and manipulate your personal path.
It's fascinating and fun, as you'll see in the video above by designboom. And it's on display until February 3, 2013 at the HangarBicocca in Italy. Hey Nasher, can we have one?
