Sea Stellation investigates pressure deformation of stellated polyhedra. The work starts with a rhombic triacontahedron stellation-a form with 30 diamond-shaped faces extended into star points. Computational simulation models how this geometry would collapse under deep ocean pressure. The result captures a moment of transformation: sharp stellations buckle inward, faces fold, symmetry breaks. Developed with Stefano Arrighi as part of AID research, the project tests limits of geometric stability. Ocean pressure serves as both literal force and conceptual framework-extreme environments reshape mathematical perfection. The plaster print freezes this deformation state, making visible forces that operate beyond human experience. The work extends earlier polyhedral research into new territory: not construction but destruction, not assembly but collapse.
Research: Pressure simulation required custom computational approaches. Standard FEA methods assume continuous materials; stellated polyhedra present discontinuous geometry with sharp points and complex intersections. The collaboration with Arrighi developed hybrid techniques: geometric analysis for initial states, physics simulation for deformation paths, mathematical constraints to maintain topological consistency during collapse. Deep ocean pressure-up to 1000 times atmospheric-provided extreme parameters for testing geometric limits.
Photography: Phillip C. Reiner
