Transposing a Form, 2019-2023
ceramic 3D print of MMS-2 Enhanced Mars Simulant, bentonite clay, aluminum-based glaze
28 x 8 x 9 3/4 inches, 2019
37 x 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches, 2019
13 1/4 x 10 1/8 x 9 7/8 inches, 2019
5 x 7 x 7 inches, 2020
9 1/2 x 13 1/4 x 10 inches, 2020
10 x 11.5 x 29.5 inches, 2023
Transposing a Form is a pioneering series of work in 3D ceramic printing that explores interactions through forms made with MMS-2 Mars Soil Simulant, developed by engineers at NASA to represent materials generated through space colonization. Digital simulation and autonomous technology have a tremendous impact on how future objects are made, including how we engage with the environment. These forms act as exit points for time, land, and technology, signaling future settler colonialism in which the “new materiality” of Mars becomes its own exit strategy.
At the same time, innovations in 3D ceramic printing enable new creative possibilities that merge the traditional language of ceramics with additive digital processes through computerized coiling. Coiling is an ancient technique used in Indigenous pottery across Turtle Island, where forms are built by laying clay coils one upon another taken from the soil. This translation of coiling into digital form underscores how emerging technologies can intersect with long-standing traditions.
Each piece stages a dialogue between Earth and Mars, generating a new language of forms. The works function as anti-vessels or non-containers: they hold nothing, remaining open at both top and bottom—entrance and exit.
Photos: Jenalee Harmon