A Beating Heart
Hydraulic Sculpture
Materials & Experiments
Industrial Design, Packaging Design, Graphic Design, Market Research
Academic Group Project, 2023
Team: Kasturi Kailas Katale, Aditi Ankush Shinde, Sameksha Rohatgi
Personal Contribution: Concept behind the sculpture, Modeling the Rib cage, helping with Assembly, painting, dying and other details. Kasturi was responsible for figuring out the mechanism for the hydraulics and the the Hoberman sphere inspired heart.
Duration: 3 weeks
Guide: Sahil Thappa
Tools: Workshop Prototyping
Brief: To create a sculpture with movement.
About the project:
Everyone can agree that the feeling of falling in love is beautiful. A gentle breeze flowing through your hair as you walk back home, everything feels just a little bit brighter, a little bit warmer, a little bit... better. You think of them and try not to smile at the thought of their shining eyes, how they looked just at you when they waved you hello in the morning. Then, suddenly, you spot them in the crowd, they look at you and smile. The sheer coincidence, the timing. As you feel your cheeks get red, you try to calm down. Your heart is beating so fast it could almost burst out of your chest. It seems like time has stopped, just for this little movement. You can’t help thinking, oh what a sweet feeling.
A beating heart is an interactive kinetic sculpture, powered by hydraulics and love. What started out as an exploration to depict the feeling of falling in love, soon became long days in the workshops, trips to old city to find the right screws, nuts & bolts and understanding an array of mechanisms.
The what?
After being fascinated by and researching hydraulics, we built upon our understanding and shaped the idea through doodles, figuring out the details like joineries, mechanisms and movements with rough drawings.
The how?
A very hands-on process, collaboration was crucial to ensure that all parts were built to fit. Not using CNC and 3D printing for the main components, we spent most of our time in or around the workshop. More than just materials, we learned how to adapt to each others working styles and personalities to avoid conflicts. I learned a lot from Kasturi during this time. We also adapted along the way when our initial ideas didn't work.
