Orix
2019
Public Art Proposal
Bloomington, Indiana
Orix is inspired by naturally occurring origami folds. ‘Ori’ means fold in Japanese and ‘X’ refers to both the seed of the origami folds and the ambiguous, futuristic, and bionic form that results from the folding and distorting process. In nature, folding can be seen everywhere, and for some scientists, nature, at both the macroscopic and microscopic level, ‘folds’ rather than ‘builds.’ Through the manipulation of folds, colors, light, and its conversation with the people who come to experience it, Orix, as a mystical being, actively engages, encloses, protects, and connects the Trades District site and the community.
The generative seed of Orix is a triply periodic bi-foldable mathematical surface that is the result of a collaboration between IUB mathematician Matthias Weber and artist/designer Jiangmei Wu. The DNA of the surface is an ‘X’ shaped vertex that can be aggregated in three-dimensional space. Through a process of adding, subtracting, folding, and distorting, Orix can be generated and optimized into various potential solutions based on artistic compositions, engineering analyses, and community engagement.
Light, if rendered into art, must be transmitted and transformed through multiple materials. Non-material light, either emitted or reflected, interplays with a material surface that is folded from thin aluminum sheets and perforated with generative patterns inspired by Indiana limestone fossils. When light interacts with the mountains and valleys of the perforated surface, it is transmitted and reflected through the porosity of the colored aluminum. The folded form anchors to the ground plane through a series of similarly faceted limestone benches.
The design draws from local inspiration at multiple scales. The color palette pulls from the interplay between autumn foliage, sky, and water. The folded form references the order and chaos found in piles of discarded limestone in area quarries, while the porosity is inspired by overlapping crinoid patterns.
This work is a collaboration work. Other participating artists include Lucas Brown and Brian McCutcheon.