"The Planet Spins Despite Me Stopping" constructs a spherical form from spiraling stainless steel tubes. The spiral elements wind around the sphere's axis, creating a form that suggests planetary rotation despite remaining static. The spiraling tubes create optical effects: from certain angles the sphere appears solid, from others transparent. Movement around the sculpture reveals its construction logic-rotation made visible through static geometry. The title reflects this paradox: the planet's motion captured in stillness, continuing its spin regardless of human perception or pause.
Research: The sculpture derives from robot sphere research-investigations into minimal packing configurations for spherical structures. Various packing strategies for spherical frameworks were tested, with spiral configurations emerging as optimal for combining structural efficiency with minimal material volume. The geometry emerged from optimization studies seeking configurations that minimize packing volume while maintaining structural integrity. Collaboration with Francisco Regalado focused on mathematical optimization-finding spiral parameters (pitch, radius, rotation angle) that satisfy both geometric and fabrication constraints. Robotic fabrication ensures precise pipe alignment at complex intersection angles where tubes meet, achieving precision beyond manual fabrication capabilities. The optimization process balanced competing requirements: structural strength, visual density, material economy.
Photography: Studio Olafur Eliasson, Maris Hutchinson
