Nora O’Murchú, Hua Shu
Challenge
THX.OBJ is a speculative object that raises critical questions about the social, economic and political implications of 3D printing technologies. The 3D printed garment investigates how this re- emerging technology is influencing and shaping our world, while addressing the complex, systemic challenges of cognitive capitalism.
Impact
Over the past decade, 3D printing technology has revolutionised the manufacturing industry – not only enabling designers to create elaborate and intricate shapes, but also redefining the manufacturing process and the fashion industry. The design and development of THX.OBJ took an interdisciplinary approach to model making, using computational python scripts to generate textiles and interwoven garments. The combination of these distinct approaches allows for the development of printed, flexible, malleable textiles.
Nora O’Murchú is a designer and curator whose practice examines the networked conditions that make up public, social and civic infrastructures. Her work embraces narratives and fictions that result in wearable objects, exhibitions and interventions. She is a course director, lecturer and researcher at the University of Limerick.
Hua Shu is a graphic designer who lived in Hubei, China for twelve years before moving to the United States. As a designer and a perpetual foreigner, Hua is interested in the construction of images and the recontextualization of language and signs.