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Joseph CheeVisual designer & creative technologistSingapore

Takku

Role
Interactive Artist & Sound Designer
Time
2023, 3 months
Client
Personal Project
With
p5.js, Arduino, 3D Printing

Overview

A haunting interactive installation that explores the environmental impact on the Marshall Islands through mechanical and digital elements. The piece features a kinetic sculpture suspended above a digital representation of Takku Island, creating a powerful metaphor for environmental degradation and cultural loss.

Challenge

To create a complex mechanical system that could control multiple suspended elements with a single stepper motor, while integrating it seamlessly with digital interactions.

Solution

Developed a custom 1:50 planetary gear train system using 3D printing, combined with precise Arduino control for synchronized movement of three wire-suspended props.

Technical Achievement

Successfully engineered a high-precision mechanical system through iterative 3D printing, material testing, and careful calibration of stepper motor controls.

The imagery of a kinetic mobile strung above the island of Takku subverts the idea of a baby's cradle as it is clearly empty and barren, mirroring the grim and pessimistic outlook towards their future.

The tribal and reverberation is underscored by a monotonous mechanical clock ticking, highlighting the severity and the overarching theme of lost time.

The island slowly disintegrates before our very eyes as human interventions only seek to hasten its destruction through the displacement of land and sediment. All we can do is imagine what the remains of the Takku spirit are through their ghastly whispers and empty chants that are disruptively silenced, as are their livelihoods.

Technical Implementation

  • Custom 3D-printed planetary gear system with 1:50 ratio
  • Arduino-controlled stepper motor with precision drivers
  • P5.js for interactive digital elements and sound design
  • Integrated mechanical and digital synchronization

Development Process

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Round island diorama ringed with driftwood and twigs around a shimmering blue surface, with three wooden props hanging above it.
Round island diorama ringed with driftwood and twigs around a shimmering blue surface, with three wooden props hanging above it.
Takku Installation Documentation
Close-up of twigs and dried roots on the island's rim, with the glittering blue surface blurred behind them.
Close-up of twigs and dried roots on the island's rim, with the glittering blue surface blurred behind them.
Driftwood and a grey feather resting on the island's edge beside the sparkling blue and sand-coloured surface.
Driftwood and a grey feather resting on the island's edge beside the sparkling blue and sand-coloured surface.
Macro view of weathered twigs and a seed pod on the shoreline of the blue, sand-flecked island surface.
Macro view of weathered twigs and a seed pod on the shoreline of the blue, sand-flecked island surface.
Low-angle view across the island's blue surface, framed by a ring of driftwood and upright twigs.
Low-angle view across the island's blue surface, framed by a ring of driftwood and upright twigs.
The full sculpture, with three driftwood pieces suspended on fine wires above the island diorama.
The full sculpture, with three driftwood pieces suspended on fine wires above the island diorama.
Three people adjusting wire-suspended props from an overhead rig above the island diorama in a studio.
Three people adjusting wire-suspended props from an overhead rig above the island diorama in a studio.