Critical Practices › 2022 › Reuse and Misuse with Heat Formed Acrylic

Reuse and Misuse with Heat Formed Acrylic

The Acrylic Pixel is a modular system of aggregated heat slumped acrylic panels. The work builds on previous research into utilizing heat to form acrylic shell structures. The recent events surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic have also reframed our initial interests in material production and waste as acrylic barriers have become intertwined within the everyday physical and social landscape. This paper presents a prototype that critiques and subverts the typical use of acrylic by warping, distorting, and manipulating light and vision through the panels. The modular system can be assembled in a variety of ways as a public installation. The prototype is a catalyst to encourage viewers to look and engage in dialogue around the material, social, and cultural aspects of our relationship to acrylic.

---

Contributors

A. Chao
E.M. Segal
L. Ramsburg
P. Draper

University at Buffalo, Hofstra University, Princeton University & Entuitive
United States

Presented at ICSA2022, Aalborg University. Critical Practices 2022 booklet (PDF)