Captured Currents: Translating Movement from Water to Matter
Radical Prototype – Between Atoms and Bits

This project explores the transformation of movement into material form through digital fabrication, investigating how the ephemeral nature of water can be translated from the physical to the digital and back again. By scanning and 3D printing bodies of water—ranging from cupped hands to the Mediterranean Sea—we aimed to understand what is lost, altered, or preserved in this translation process.

Inspired by Hans Haacke’s Condensation Cube (1963-1968), which emphasizes the unpredictability of natural systems, and Eyal Gever’s Sublime Moments, where fleeting phenomena are digitally captured, our work interrogates the limits of digital perception. As Nick Yee (2014) states, “Instead of escaping from physical reality, virtual worlds have become a way for us to replicate physical reality.” However, rather than merely replicating, our process reshapes reality, exposing how movement resists static representation.

Our experiments revealed that conventional 3D scanning struggles to capture water in motion. While water held between hands or a small fountain evaded detection, the Mediterranean Sea—a hyperobject in constant flux—produced scans filled with fragmented waves and distortions. The resulting 3D models, once printed, showcased layers of movement frozen in time, with the PLA filament naturally building upon itself in unpredictable formations.

Through iterative prototyping, we embraced the limitations of digital fabrication, allowing support structures to become integral to the aesthetic of the prints. The final presentation incorporated mirrors and video projections, reinforcing the interplay of motion, perception, and materiality.