Offbeat Chilean studio gt2p (Great Things to People) aren’t as wacky as one might think. Yes, they made us giggle with Gudpaka, their oversized alpaca hair lampshade, and at first glance this latest project looks a bit barmy as well, pouring pottery goop through a sieve and seeing what gets left in the bottom. But there’s all sorts of maths and science going on in the planning and execution of Less: Catenary Pottery Printer – a lovely hands-on bucking of the painful 3D printing trend. The simplified explanation is that it’s all about parametric systems, and manufacturing non-standard objects from standardised equipment by tweaking factors such as fabric material, tension, mixture consistency and so on.
Having said all that, it’s still something you might like to try at home with a few bits of wooden fruit crate and an old pair of knickers. Pour in the mixture, collect the liquid that drips through, and when the material is completely clogged, suck out the excess with a syringe or turkey baster. Leave to dry, and carefully peel the material from the pottery shell inside. You probably won’t get anything as lovely as gt2p’s creations left in your old pants – they’ve used gauze, muslin and Lycra among other materials, and it’s a very precise process they’ve got going at the Santiago workshop. No harm in having bash though eh?
Photography, gt2P and Victor Imperiale
