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Trine Messenger

Expanding research into the creation of digital doubles, Brass Art (Anneke Pettican, Chara Lewis, Kristin Mojsiewicz) worked with scientists at UCLAN and Glasgow University to investigate 3D and 4D facial stereophotogrammetry as a highly detailed method of self-capture. Applications of this data were explored through processes of 3D printing, 2D pattern making and digital video. This enquiry informed the 3 metre research prototype: translating living 3-dimensional subjects into 3D body scan data, then into a pattern for a large inflatable sculpture. Utilising source data, a mean average of the artists’ heads was produced and translated in a 2D pattern, before being stitched together to form a 7 metre 3D inflatable sculpture entitled ‘Trine Messenger’. The fabric was weather-tested, vents were tried for efficiency, and alterations made to facial features and interior strapping to retain detail. Finally, solar-charging batteries were chosen to power the sculpture’s automatic inflation/deflation fan using Arduino. The work combines surreal self-portraiture with expertise in bio-medical data gathering. The winged head references the god Hypnos and signifies its occupation of a dream-like register. Playful manipulation of the body’s anatomical boundaries through metamorphosis enables our three portraits to shift between the real and the virtual, evidenced through a body of research including commissions for Meadow Arts and A Foundation. Our selection for 2012 Tatton Park Biennial by Danielle Arnaud and Jordan Kaplan places our practice alongside acclaimed international artists. The exhibition attracted 400,000 visitors. The production of miniature 3D prints ‘The Messengers’ for ‘Inside Out: Sculpture in the Digital Age’, along with conference paper ‘Wonder and the Digital Double’ at the 2nd International Body Scanning Conference in Lugano informed our conceptualisation of ‘Trine Messenger’ at Tatton Park Biennial. Together they have yielded new knowledge recently explored through a ‘Creative Lab’ residency at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow.