In celebration of the inaugural Melbourne Design Week, which took place in March 2017, Chilean design studio Great Things to People (gt2P) presented their Catenary Pottery Printer, aimed at exploring the boundaries between digital and analog machines. Throughout the design festival, local designers and students used the pottery printer to create their own custom works, with visitors welcomed to watch the craft in action.
Developed in collaboration with staff and students from the RMIT University School of Architecture and Design, and displayed under the Federation Court atrium at the National Gallery of Victoria, the project reveals the thought process behind the creation of non-standard objects – a process often reserved for inside computers.
Despite its technological undercurrents, gt2P’s printer operates through a low-tech system, using a fabric sling suspended at adjustable intervals to mold liquid clay into beautiful vessels. As ceramic slips, drains, and dries, one-of-a-kind objects are created.
Design: Great Things to People (gt2P)