MEDIUM
INTRODUCTION
Insects are typically mistaken for critters that have a high risk of bringing harm to us humans. It is common that humans develop this irrational fear at an early age to steer clear away from potentially harmful encounters with these creatures. Although we do not think that these creepy crawlies can overpower and kill us like other larger and aggressive animals, alternatively, the fear is closely related to the feeling of disgust. This fear - if not treated well or exposed early, will often lead to phobia or even trauma (to an extent) which causes anxiety, panic attacks, hyperventilating and rapid heart rates when one encounters an insect.
In my honest opinion, ‘mechanism’ was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the works of Levon Biss’s close-up photographs of insects, which happens to be the initial idea for this project. The exoskeleton body of the insects from different views just instantly screams - mechanism to me. But “Why?” is the question. There are three points as to why insects and mechanisms correlate with each other. First and foremost, the outlook and physical exoskeleton bodies of these insects have already given out the story itself. It is impossible to say that these creatures do not look like machines up close when they’re built with sharp-joint edged legs, triangular shaped faces with big compound eyes, long flexible antennas, hard shells, and their veiny and glossy pair of wings. This now links to the movement of their bodies - how rhythmically swift their motions are, yet they never seem to topple between one another because of their stable body. With the help of their rigid body frame, they adopt a tripedal gait movement where they walk with their legs touching the ground in alternating triangles. This movement is in fact considered as the fastest movement gait for hexapod robot/ machines. Talk about similarities! Lastly, it is encrypted in their DNA to strictly follow a
well structured regime in maintaining the quality of our ecosystem. From their phases of growth, to how they build their nests, to surviving to find food and their teamwork as a colony. Every insect is designed to perform its own designated task, similar to a machine that is created to do specific tasks by the creator. Though insects are much alike like machines, they should not be treated as one. They are our heroes in disguise and therefore must we try our best as a society to observe, study and appreciate these tiny little blessings from down under.
MEDIUM MODEL
Terowong Kepompong, acts as a bridge from the human world, coming into the world of insects. The idea behind the kepompong is taken from the stages of an insect’s life, in which inside the cocoon is where the insect undergoes their transformation from a larva to becoming an adult. Relating it back with the model as a whole, it becomes the morphing point for the start of the visitors’ journey into the museum to realize, acknowledge, and appreciate the existence of insects in our planet. Inside the kepompong, will be the main highlight, which is a standing tall bridge waiting to be rolled-out at the other end of the tunnel. It was inspired by pill bugs with the same rolling in and rolling out characteristics and is meant to resemble the bug expanding itself to welcome the visitors into the museum. The mechanism used for this bridge is the pulley-system, where there are threads attached through each railing of the bridge, and threads attached underneath each platform of the bridge. Both threads are being pulled simultaneously, for example, the thread below is pulled for the bridge to expand, while the threads above control the speed of each platform when it’s expanding. When the bridge rolls back in, the thread above is being pulled to get back to its original curled-up form.
FINAL BOARDS
INTRODUCTION BOARD (1)
PROGRAMMING BOARD (2)
