Wallpaper 10

ROTTLACE
2016

Matter

Photopolymers

Media

Data-driven material modelling &

3D-printing

Design iterations

o f t h e R o t t l a c e m a s k u s i n g

generative algorithms

Icelandic singer-songwriter
Björk wearing the Rottlace mask.
As in the human body, where
continuous, collagenous elements
alter their chemical and mechanical
p r o p e r t i e s a s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e
tension they exert or endure, each
mask is designed as a synthetic
‘whole without parts’

Photography: Santiago Felipe.
C o u r t e s y o f N e r i O x m a n a n d
The Mediated Matter Group,
MIT Media Lab

SYNOPSIS

R o t t l a c e i s a f a m i l y o f m a s k s

designed for Icelandic singer-

s o n g w r i t e r B j ö r k. I n s p i r e d b y

Björk’s Vulnicura album, The

Mediated Matter Group explored

themes associated with self-healing

and expressing ‘the face without

a skin’. The series originates

with a mask that emulates Björk’s

facial structure and concludes with

a mask that reveals a new identity,

independent of its origin. What

o r i g i n a t e s a s a f o r m o f p o r t r a i t u r e

culminates in reincarnation.

DESCRIPTION

T h e m a s k s’ d e s i g n i s i n f o r m e d

by the geometrical and material

l o g i c s t h a t u n d e r l i e t h e h u m a n

musculoskeletal system;

specifically, the complex structure

of muscles, connective tissues,

tendons, and ligaments that

modulate the human voice. This

continuous weave of dense collagen

fibres form functional ‘typologies’

of connections: muscle-to-bone,

bone-to-bone, and muscle-to-muscle.

As in the human body, where

continuous, collagenous elements

alter their chemical and mechanical

p r o p e r t i e s a s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e

tension they exert or endure, each

mask is designed as a synthetic

‘whole without parts’. The masks

incorporate tunable physical

properties recapitulating,

augmenting, or controlling the

f a c i a l f o r m a n d m o v e m e n t b e h i n d

them. Inspired by their biological

counterpart, and conceived as

‘muscle textile’, the masks are

bundled, multimaterial structures,

providing formal and structural

integrity, as well as movement,

to the face and neck.

One of the masks from the series

was selected for Björk’s stage

performance at the Tokyo Miraikan

Museum, and 3D-printed by Stratasys

using multimaterial 3D-printing.

This process enables the production

of elaborate combinations of graded

properties distributed over

geometrically complex structures

within a single object. The project

implements Stratasys’ Connex3

technology using three materials

with pre-set mechanical

combinations varying in rigidity,

opacity, and colour, as a function

of geometrical, structural,

and physiological constraints.

B u i l d i n g o n p r e v i o u s p r o j e c t s

created in collaboration with

Stratasys (including Vespers, see

page 316, and Wanderers, see page

318), Rottlace is similarly printed

as a single, multifunctional

material system, composed of rigid

materials combined with nano-

enhanced, elastomeric structures.

The intricate fibrous tissue is

made of soft and flexible materials

designed to accommodate facial

movement. Continuous property

transitions – ranging from stiff

bone-like structures to semi-

flexible ligament-like structures,

to flexible fibre-based connective

tissue structures – are

computationally generated and

digitally fabricated, using Björk’s

f a c i a l s c a n – o b t a i n e d a s p o i n t

cloud data. The computational

framework enables micron-scale

control of 3D-printable material

placement over highly complex

geometric domains. This, in turn,

enables the design and 3D-printing

of complex, large-scale objects

with continuous variations of

modulus and transparency, within

a single build. The properties

of each mask include a number of

length-scales, informing their

mechanical properties and

behaviour: on the centimetre scale,

the 3D-printed musculoskeleton

is designed to allow for flexible

movement, while providing integrity

to, and support of, its overall

form; on the millimetre scale, the

fusing and parting of fibres with

varying material compositions

enables the overall structure to

be self-supporting; and lastly, on

the micron scale, material droplets

are placed, diffused, and spatially

aggregated to provide continuous

material variation within a single

‘muscle-skin’ object.

CREDITS

Research and design by The Mediated

Matter Group in collaboration

with Stratasys, NYU LaGuardia

Studio, Taylor Absher and Blair

Simmons. Mediated Matter

researchers include Christoph

Bader, Dominik Kolb, and group

director Neri Oxman.

∑ 327

Neri Oxman