Michael Eden creates historically inspired, 3D-printed works of art in nylon. Sitting at the intersection of design, craft and art, his art is an intricate wonder to behold. But as coronavirus continues to keep many of us confined within the walls of our homes, it is difficult to experience his pieces in-person and in-situ—the best way for them to be experienced.
Now Adrian Sassoon has teamed up with The Art Newspaper to break down that physical barrier. Through a new Augmented Reality (AR) function on The Art Newspaper app, it is possible to easily place one of Eden’s sculptures on a surface within your living space or office and experience it as though it were really there. At the touch of a button, you can virtually add a museum-quality work to your at-home collection. (Note, that you may need to update your version of the app and download iOS 13 to access the AR feature).
AR is a befitting medium through which to bring Eden’s work to life, since his designs harness the most innovative rapid prototyping technology. The sculpture in the app takes the form of a Nautilus—a type of marine mollusc—and is made up of the numbers in the mathematical Fibonacci sequence (which creates a curved shape), arranged in order from the centre. In this work, Eden aims to create an aesthetically pleasing form that emphasises the relationship between the arts and sciences, brought together through mathematics.
The creative tools he uses are in themselves a result of the application of mathematics, physics and material knowledge, borne from a creative urge to find new ways to make complex objects that cannot be achieved by any other method. Nautilus was designed using Rhino 3D CAD software and was then 3D-printed in nylon, after which it went through a bespoke copper plating process and a lengthy patination surface treatment.
Dynamic and often humorous, Eden’s work is favoured by museums internationally and has been acquired by the National Museum of Scotland, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Cooper Hewitt in New York—now it could be in your collection, in your home too with the help of The Art Newspaper’s AR app feature.